Mnemosyne
by aeon fear
Summary: No way. No way that this could be real. Ritsuka had wished and wished that the old Ritsuka would come back, but he hadn't expected him to come back in this form. My first loveless fanfic. Now complete! Please read and review!
1. Waking Unreality

Mnemosyne~

Disclaimer: I do not own loveless…though I wish I did.

A/N: Un-beta'ed. You're welcome to express interest through a review. *smile*

* * *

"Wake up."

The voice was utterly familiar to the twelve-year-old Aoyagi Ritsuka, but it seemed wrong somehow. Was it his mother? Had she come to his room to wake him up? Then it really would be wrong…

"Hey, wake up!"

Familiar, but it was as if he was hearing it from the wrong side. "Five more minutes…" he mumbled distractedly. Who was it?

"Our alarm clock's broken, we're going to be late for school!" an impatient voice commanded. There was a weight on his bed. "Wake up!"

"We? Who's we?" Ritsuka said, opening his eyes…

Only to meet another pair of violet eyes the exact same shade as his own. A child was staring at him, those pale face framed by messy masses of straight black hair. A pair of ears was perched on his head, and he was-

Ritsuka wondered if he was dreaming. The child looked exactly like him.

"Who…" Ritsuka choked. "Are you?"

"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking you that? You're sleeping on MY bed." The child looked petulant.

Ritsuka was utterly confused. Even their voices were the same. "I'm Ritsuka," he said lamely.

The morning light illuminated the doubt on the child's face. "We have the same name!" the child proclaimed.

* * *

After a few minutes of total silence, Ritsuka said, "You're…You're Ritsuka as well?"

"Yeah. Where's Seimei-aniki? He didn't wake me up today."

Ritsuka gasped. It couldn't be possible…"How old are you?"

"Nine." The child's gaze was clear, direct.

No way. No way that this could be real. Ritsuka had wished and wished that the old Ritsuka would come back, but he hadn't expected him to come back in this form.

Not like this.

Ritsuka poked at one of the new bruises that his (_no, their_, a voice whispered in his head) mother had given him last night. It was still there, and it STILL hurt, which seemed to rule out the possibility that this was a bizarre dream.

He could only thank goodness that Soubi hadn't spent the night. He could only wonder how his Sentouki would react.

"Well?" the other Ritsuka said. "Are we going to go to school?"

"You don't seem surprised by this," Ritsuka managed to say, still recovering from shock.

The younger Ritsuka cocked his head at him. "Seimei-aniki said that he was going to bring me a present. He said it last night. You're the present, aren't you?"

It was the first time in his life that Ritsuka had ever heard himself referred to as a gift.

"Aren't we going to be late?" the younger Ritsuka asked again.

Ritsuka thought that only Seimei could stun him into not doing anything. He did not expect that the pre-amnesiac Ritsuka could also do the same.

Soubi thought that Ritsuka was unusually quiet when he picked him up that day.

Yuiko gave him a worried glance. The Fighter remembered that she had emailed him saying that Ritsuka was acting strange today. Not grumpy or angsty, but peculiarly quiet and unfocused. Something was distracting his young Sacrifice.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Yuiko said, trying to smile.

Yayoi standing beside her, nodded. "I hope that you'll be okay, Ritsuka."

"Nothing's wrong with me," Ritsuka said, automatically it seemed. Soubi knew a lie when Ritsuka spoke it, but by the same volition knew that he could do nothing. He was Ritsuka's servant. He only knew how to follow.

To obey.

For the children, Soubi smiled. "I'll take care of him."

The promise he made Seimei.

Yuiko and Yayoi nodded, reassured. They said their goodbyes.

Once the other two were out of sight, they began to walk in the opposite direction. Soubi wasn't surprised when he realized that Ritsuka was leading them in the direction of the park. In as far as he knew, Ritsuka never went straight home after school, and today was a Monday, not a day for his therapy.

He had just started wondering whether Ritsuka wanted more memories when a child came running to them. The boy had been a part of a crowd, but separated himself to greet them. Soubi thought that he looked familiar.

That was, until Soubi got his first proper look at the child.

"R…Ritsuka?" breathed Soubi, his eyes wide and disbelieving. He looked younger, but-

"Hey, you took a long time," the child said cheerfully. "Is sixth grade that hard?"

Then the child turned to Soubi. "How do you know my name?"

* * *

Soubi gripped Ritsuka's shoulder-his Ritsuka's shoulder- to remind himself which was the real one. Who was this child?

He looked like Ritsuka's twin. Their voices were almost exactly alike. The child was a few inches shorter than his Ritsuka, and although his eyes were the same violet that Soubi had grown to love, they were wider, more innocent.

"This is Soubi," Ritsuka said, his voice dull and lifeless. "Agatsuma Soubi. He's our friend."

"I see," the child said. "Is he another present?"

His Ritsuka's shoulders tensed, then relaxed. "I think you could say that," he murmured.

Despite everything, Soubi felt his heart lift a little.

"We are going to play now?" the child said eagerly.

"Who are you?" Soubi said at last.

"I thought you knew already! I'm Ritsuka."

"That's impossible."

"Why?" the child wanted to know.

Ritsuka glanced up to see others staring at them. "Let's sit," Ritsuka suggested.

The child nodded once then raced to the nearest bench. Ritsuka was reminded of a can of springs, waiting to burst.

Had he once moved like that, full of energy? He found it hard it to believe.

Soubi watched the child with suspicion. "Who is he, Ritsuka?"

"It's just like he said, Soubi. He's me, only younger, and with no amnesia. He showed up at the house this morning, looking for Seimei. He says he's nine years old." Ritsuka's blankness broke a little. "I didn't know what to do. He wanted to go to school, but I said that he had to go here. I had to sneak him out of the house so that Mom won't see him…"

Soubi hugged the boy tight. "I love you, Ritsuka," he said fiercely. "Why didn't you call me? I would've come, no mater what."

Ritsuka, far from being reassured, looked up at him sadly. "Which Ritsuka do you love, then?"

"Hey!" the other Ritsuka shouted, standing on his bench seat. "Are we going to sit or what? I have curfew, you know! I have to be home before dark."

Ritsuka and Soubi looked at each other. Then, as one, they walked closer to the younger Ritsuka. Ritsuka reached out, and held his Sentouki's hand. Soubi's hand tightened reassuringly, and Ritsuka resisted the urge to grip it like a lifeline.

Right now it was the only thing keeping him from despair.

* * *

~And that's it for the first chapter. I think that this is going to be short-maybe five chapters or so-but the next ones would be longer. Please read and review! Clicky the little button.

I'd love to know how I'm doing. Whether I've got the characters down, or if they're OOC, is my plot strong so far, things like that. I've got a pretty solid plot so far, but may fine-tune it according to the reader's input. YOU HAVE THE POWER! Muahahaha!

*somebody throws an empty pepsi can*


	2. Inverted Mirror

~Mnemosyne~

Disclaimer: If someone would give me a Soubi plushie, I'd be happy. A Ritsuka plusie would make me ecstatic, but that's all I'll ever own of loveless since I'm not Yun Kouga-san.

A/N: This may contain some spoilers and some hints of seimeixritsuka...PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! *bows repeatedly*

Also, this is almost entirely from the younger Ritsuka's point of view.

* * *

- Inverted Mirror -

~the night before~

Ritsuka stared at his brother's door. He was home, which was rare, and he wanted to spend time with his Aniki. But, was Seimei busy? He hated to be interrupted while he was working, after all-

It didn't help that Watanabe-sensei assigned them a particularly difficult bit of homework. His friends didn't know how to solve the math problems. Ritsuka had thought that Seimei would be home-he'd get help then.

He was right, Seimei was home, but he didn't greet Ritsuka when he came home. He just went straight up to his room…

He stood there, deliberating. Then, as if by magic, the door opened. Ritsuka, however, didn't even jump. It had happened often enough. Ritsuka would sit and wait, wishing for Seimei, and then he would come.

Just like that.

"Ritsuka." Seimei said, opening his door wider. "What's the matter? Did Mom cook the food you didn't like?"

He shook his head. "Can you help me with my homework, Aniki? It's math."

For an answer, Seimei let Ritsuka pass him. Ritsuka headed for Seimei's table, and sat in Seimei's chair. With a smile, Seimei dragged out a foldable stool and sat behind Ritsuka.

"Well, what parts do you need help with?"

"Sort of…everything," Ritsuka admitted with a sheepish laugh.

/ | \

Half an hour later, Ritsuka was bending over the last set of math problems when he perked up. "Aniki, is it true that you're only considered an adult if you lose your ears?"

"That's what they say," Seimei said, noncommittally. He was sitting in front of his computer now, playing a video game.

Seimei had always finished his homework before he did. Ritsuka wished more than once that he was as smart as Seimei. But he didn't wish that hard, since Seimei was always there to help him out anyway.

Always.

He had point-blank refused to help (well, more like help cheat off of) Ritsuka with the last problems. If Seimei let him, Ritsuka would not learn anything.

"So you only become an adult when you fall in love?"

"I suppose."

"That's silly. Watanabe-sensei doesn't have his ears, but he's not as mature as you, Seimei."

Seimei smiled and paused his video game. "I think it's stupid, as well," he said. "If that's the case, I'll never lose my ears."

"Then, you haven't fallen in love, Aniki?" Ritsuka was astonished. Seimei was loved by everyone; Ritsuka thought it was only natural for Seimei to love one of them back.

Seimei came over and put his arms around his brother. "I love only you, Ritsuka." He put his lips near his little brother's cat ears. "Only you."

Ritsuka giggled, "I love Seimei-aniki too."

"But only me?"

The child paused. He never loved anyone the way he did Seimei…"Yes, Aniki, only you."

His elder brother held him tighter. "Ritsuka…" Seimei breathed, "Hurry up with the math problems. It won't do if you continue to distract yourself." He laughed gently. "You stink, and we can take our evening bath together."

"That wasn't very nice!" Ritsuka glared, which only resulted in Seimei chuckling.

Ritsuka couldn't help it. He laughed too.

/ | \

Later, in the bath, he asked Seimei where he had been the last few weeks.

"Did you miss me, Ritsuka?" Seimei responded with another question.

RItsuka nodded. His hair was full of shampoo.

Seimei considered before answering. "I've been tying up some loose ends," he said at last. "I think that you can say I've been fighting off a few people."

Ritsuka frowned. "Are you in trouble? I'll help!" Seimei, he was sure, was on the right side.

"Not this time, little brother." Seimei splashed a bit of water on Ritsuka's nose. "Though when I've finished, we'll go together and celebrate. How does that sound?"

"Celebrate how?"

"You'll see. It's a secret."

"Aww! Will it happen soon?"

"Maybe."

"Before my birthday?" Ritsuka's birthday was exactly one week from tonight.

"I don't think so."

Ritsuka sighed.

Seimei laughed. "All right then. What do you want for your birthday?"

"A camera," Ritsuka answered promptly.

"A camera? Whatever for?"

"Sei-mei! I'm in the photography club."

"And?"

"I don't have a camera of my own! I have to borrow the school cameras and fill out the monitoring forms," Ritsuka pouted.

"Oh, all right," Seimei gave in. "I'll get you a camera. Along with another present…someday."

"Another one?"

"Ten is a very special age."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "You say that every time I have my birthday. What's my other present?"

Seimei's eyes flashed in a way that scared the living crap out of the young Ritsuka. It was weird, but he sometimes got that look, and Ritsuka never knew what triggered it. What he did know was that he should never contradict what Seimei said next after he got that look. "He's coming soon, Ritsuka."

"He? A person?"

"Yes. He'll give you anything you want, even when we're not together."

Ritsuka considered. "Like a Santa."

Seimei laughed and laughed. For the life of him, Ritsuka couldn't see what was so funny.

/ | \

As was usual when Siemei helped him with his homework into the night, Seimei let him sleep on his bed. It was a treat that Ritsuka didn't ask for often.

He couldn't sleep in his own bed as well as he could in Seimei's. Maybe it was the smell, Ritsuka guessed. Seimei smelled so clean. Seimei's scent was on the sheets, relaxing him. It had been a full day.

"Aniki," Ritsuka said fuzzily, on the edge of sleep, "Will you stay with me forever?"

Seimei waited so that Ritsuka would be fully asleep before he answered. He wouldn't understand him anyway.

He smoothed back a lock of his brother's hair. "I'm working on that, Ritsuka." He smiled, and that look that Ritsuka was scared of came into his whole face then. "I'm working on that."

/ | \

When Ritsuka woke up that morning he was utterly alone. It was dawn, and Seimei was gone.

Well. Sometimes that happened. But Seimei never let him wake up without a note explaining where he was.

As Ritsuka searched for the note that he was sure was there, he noticed that Seimei's room was coated in dust. Lots and lots of dust. That was weird, Ritsuka thought. Seimei was impossibly neat. He cleaned his own room; almost never let their mother in here, in fact. Ritsuka hadn't actually seen how Aniki cleaned his room, but everything was in order when Ritsuka drifted off last night.

"Hmm," Ritsuka said. He made up the bed, took a bath, and then proceeded to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mom," he greeted cheerfully.

"Ritsuka? It's my Ritsuka?" Misaki brightened when he came in.

"What are you talking about, Mom?" He yawned. "What's for breakfast?"

"It's Ritsuka's favorite!"

Ritsuka stared down at the egg rolls and buttered toast. Urgh. Toast. He ate the eggs but left the toast. He drank the chocolate milk that his mother gave him.

For some reason, Misaki was crying with joy. "It's my Ritsuka! You have come back! Both my sons are coming back!" She hugged him so tight that he nearly choked. "That imposter is gone!"

"Mooom! You're being so silly!" He pushed her away. He finished the milk and left the room, pounding away upstairs. It was time for school.

Subtle changes, here and there: some furniture had been moved. The curtains weren't the same ones as yesterday. And Mom was acting the way she did after he or Seimei apologized for missing curfew.

But the biggest surprise was the one he had when he came into his room.

First of all, it was as neat as Seimei's room. That alone was unnerving. He didn't clean as often as he should, he knew. But today the used socks he had left on the floor and the dirty jacket hanging on the doorknob were gone. His school bag wasn't on the table, it was on the foot of the bed. The table was free of papers. Ritsuka knew that last night he had left it with scribblings of his earlier attempts at solving his math assignment.

It was almost like another person's room.

There was a billboard that wasn't there before, filled with pictures of people.

Ritsuka stared. The pictures showed him and another person with blond hair. An adult. His eyes bugged wide. In the pictures, the man was-hugging him! An adult, hugging him! Ritsuka couldn't recall ever having taken these pictures, but "he" seemed happy in them.

Or was he? Both the Ritsuka in the picture and the blond adult seemed…

Melancholy.

It was a word that Aniki taught him, a deep word that meant sadness.

Ritsuka climbed up the chair to take a closer look. He recognized that park near his house. But here and there were other pictures, of other people-a couple of kids, a young woman with cat ears and glasses, another young woman with short brown hair.

Ritsuka decided that the picture he liked best was one of him with the two kids, the cat-eared woman, the blond man, and another blond adult. They seemed really happy in this picture. It was night in the photo and he could see fireworks in the background. The melancholy was gone.

What he couldn't understand was why there were no pictures of Seimei. And why he, Ritsuka, was in the pictures. Who were these people?

His cat ears twitched as he thought. He sat on the swiveling chair and turned in a slow circle. Then he stopped dead when he noticed the bed for the first time. He stood up in alarm.

There was a person there, sleeping.

He hadn't realized that the mess on the bed was actually somebody. He never made his bed, so the sheets were always rumpled. And his pillows were usually scattered everywhere.

Ritsuka stepped closer, making no sound. Who was he? He was scared for a moment before he realized that the person on the bed had cat ears and black hair like his. A kid. In fact…

In fact…

In fact, the person on the bed looked like him. A lot.

Fascinated, fear forgotten, Ritsuka stepped even closer and bent down. Wow! It was like one of those photocopier machines at school.

Seimei had given him his present a week early!

That's when he realized that it was really time for him (them?) to go. There was an alarm clock, but although the alarm was beeping red, there was no sound. Ritsuka realized that it was broken.

He took a deep breath, and poked the sleeping boy. "Wake up."

/ | \

The other Ritsuka insisted that they sneak past their mother. The younger Ritsuka couldn't help but be confused. He had already seen her anyway. The younger Ritsuka didn't tell the other Ritsuka this, however.

"But where are we going? This isn't the direction of school. Where's Aniki? Where's my school bag? I worked hard on my homework, you know!"

The other Ritsuka didn't answer any of those questions. "You're not going to school today."

"What? WHY?" Who did this person think he was, telling him to his face to cut class?

"Well," the other Ritsuka mumbled. "You were excused. Seimei…he asked for it."

The younger Ritsuka frowned. That was possible, but…"Are you sure? Watanabe-sensei's very strict. He hates it when I'm absent."

"Yes, I'm sure. But don't go back to the house."

"I don't like being alone with Mom anyway," the younger Ritsuka assured him. "So, this is like a holiday?"

"Yes." The other Ritsuka wouldn't look at him in the eyes.

"Goody! I can call Aniki."

"NO!" the other Ritsuka said, panic written on his face. "No, don't tell anyone. Just…stay here. I've got to go to school."

"Here? You mean in the park?"

"Yes."

"But where's Aniki?"

The other Ritsuka was silent, so the younger Ritsuka proceeded to the next question.

"What grade are you in?"

"Sixth."

"May I go with you?"

"No," the other Ritsuka said.

The younger Ritsuka was getting annoyed. He felt that he was going to be abandoned. True enough, when the younger Ritsuka couldn't think of anything else to say, the other Ritsuka turned and ran away.

What was he running away from?

/ | \

When the other Ritsuka came back, he brought someone with him. An adult!

Ritsuka ran over. It was the blond adult in the picture. I know him, the younger Ritsuka thought excitedly.

And the tall blonde adult with blue eyes seemed to know him, too. "R..Ritsuka?"

"You took a long time," he complained. "Is sixth grade that hard? How do you know my name?"

The blond was looking at him with shock and suspicion as the other Ritsuka introduced them. Then he began to insist that it was impossible that his name was Ritsuka as well!

"Why not?" Ritsuka asked bluntly. Were all adults acting stupid today? Watanabe-sensei, mother, and then this adult reeking of cigarette smoke.

Being an adult was so-o-o tiresome!

But the other Ritsuka had a friend that was an adult. That wasn't ordinary. Ritsuka waited and waited in the bench he chose for them, and watched as the other two walked to him. The other Ritsuka was holding tightly to the blond's hand.

"Hey, hey," the younger Ritsuka said, peering closely at the adult's face. His nose hovered an inch apart from Soubi's.

The adult recoiled. It was one thing to look at the younger Ritsuka from afar, but another thing entirely to realize that he was a living, breathing child.

"Agatsuma-san. Are you really a friend of ours?" Ritsuka demanded.

"I suppose." Soubi said cautiously.

"I've never had a friend who didn't have his ears before. I think most adults are silly," he declared. "Aniki agrees with me. Are you silly?"

"Sometimes," Agatsuma-san murmured.

"Like now?"

"Stop talking to Soubi like that," the other Ritsuka said.

"Pfft. I'm not talking to him like anything, I'm taking to him normally!"

"Ritsuka," Agatsuma-san said, trying to calm them down.

"Yes?" they both said at the same time, turning to him with almost exactly the same face and voice.

The blond put a hand to his face. The younger Ritsuka didn't know why he did that.

After a moment, Agatsuma-san calmed down. "Can you tell us how you came to be here?"

The younger Ritsuka frowned, confused. "How? I woke up and I was here. That's it."

"Before that," the other Ritsuka said sharply.

The youger Ritsuka saw no reason to lie. "Last night I had Aniki help me with my math homework. We took a bath together and he let me sleep on his bed. When I woke up he-" and here he pointed to the other Ritsuka-"was sleeping on my bed. The end."

The other two looked at each other and started to whisper to each other. The younger Ritsuka tried several times to get their attention, but he was ignored.

He looked down. The adult's hands were shaking, but the other two didn't notice. The other Ritsuka was as white as snow.

Finally getting fed up, he slid off the table and wandered over to the rosebushes. After a few moments of observing, he decided on a blue butterfly hovering over a rose.

/ | \

He knelt, watching the butterfly closely. His violet eyes were squinted in concentration. When the butterfly drifted slowly upward, he gently cupped his hands on it, trapping the insect inside. He could feel soft beating on the insides of his palms. He smiled happily.

"What are you doing?"

The silly blond adult had come up to him from behind. The other Ritsuka followed. So they had finished talking, the younger Ritsuka thought.

"Look, look," he said excitedly. "I caught a butterfly!" He walked right up to them.

Agatsuma-san looked down at him. He still looked suspicious, but some of the creases between his eyebrows had lessened.

"The butterfly is the same color as your eyes!" Ritsuka said in delight. "Try to catch it, then."

With that, Ritsuka opened his hands. The butterfly flew upwards, but neither Soubi nor Ritsuka could made a move to catch it.

"You didn't even try. Don't you know how to?" the younger Ritsuka said gravely. "Then I'll tell you. If you're going to catch butterflies with your hands, you have to be really gentle, because they're awfully fragile. And they want to be free, so you have to wait for some time before you find one that looks like it could take a break from drifting."

He sounded almost like an adult. His violet eyes hinted of the person he would become.

"But you have to remember that you have to let it go, at the end," the younger Ritsuka said softly.

/ | \

Soubi's butterflies, the younger Ritsuka's butterflies…

Were they one and the same? The butterfly held down by cruel pins, and the butterfly freed from the hands of a child.

"I see," Agatsuma-san said. This child…

No. He could not continue. He would not.

Where, at this point, should his loyalties lie?

"I've tried to teach Aniki, but he couldn't, so don't feel bad if you can't catch butterflies." The younger Ritsuka added consolingly.

"Seimei…can't catch butterflies?" the other Ritsuka said slowly.

"Well, he can catch them all right," the younger Ritsuka said, shrugging. "Only that they die when Seimei catches them."

The older Ritsuka seemed stunned. "Die?"

"You won't want to hear it," advised the younger Ritsuka with a shudder. "But Aniki gets too excited when he catches one. So yeah, they die. After a while I asked him to stop trying because…because I hated seeing them die."

There was silence.

"May we go home now? I'm hungry, and I'm tired."

"Not to Ritsuka's house," Agatsuma-san said swiftly. "Tonight you're going to stay with me."

The setting sun colored the surroundings with orange fire. The younger Ritsuka stared at the adult, mesmerized more with the way the light surrounded him like a halo than with the words he said.

He did have one concern, though, that no one seemed to address.

"Where's Aniki?"

* * *

A/N: Well, I think that there's more character development, and possibly plot development, in this one. It raises a lot more questions, too. If i'll have to critique my own fanfiction. I'd say that it isn't too descriptive, at least for the first few scenes. But the younger Ritsuka sees things in a clear, direct way, so...I thought that it would be best.

Although I was admittedly procrastinating on how to depict Soubi and Ritsuka, since they would be a mixed mumbo-jumbo of emotions. The next chapter might be a while... * bangs head on table * while i find a way to write a plot that's acceptable with the manga and anime line (they sort of complement each other, anyway.)

Thank you for those who read. You made my day.

Kudos to Cynthia, promocat, YellOwButterfly, and Vincy-kun for being kind enough to write me a review, they made this chapter release a lot earlier than I thought it would be.

Cynthia: the first one to review. *smiles *

promocat: i haven't read all the loveless fanfiction, but i'm glad it's original. ^^

YellOwButterfly: I have a confession to make: although the idea had been plaguing me for a week, i actually wrote it in a a couple of hours. most of my fics take days. so hence the questionable quality of the chapter 1. haha. * dances the funky chicken *

Vincy-kun: huggles for being the longest one. thank you for your well-thought out ideas. I actually took them into consideration when I was writing no, it wasn't nitpicky. I was using Word when I was writing the first one. It doesn't really correct misspellings...oh, but i was more careful this time. hopefully.

To all my readers: I hope that this chapter's everything you expected, and more. It's longer...among other things. Review by clicky the little button. Maybe the next chapter will be out before the Zero boys come and tie me up in a chair.

Your reviews are, and will always ever be, read with insight. They are essential in getting the next chapter out sooner, haha...Please let me know what you think. A few points I'd like to know in particular:

Am I portraying Misaki right?

DO you think that Seimei and Ritsuka had more or less the same kind of relationship before and after he lost his memories?

And, most importantly:

Some scenes of the next chapter will take place in Soubi's home. In the manga, it's a cottage of some sorts, but in the anime, it's an apartment. Which do you think I should follow?

Thank you if you've read this far. There's an alert button there if you want to follow my story for updates.


	3. Canvas and Camera

Disclaimer: I still haven't managed to steal the loveless fighter unit, because they belong to Yun Kouga-san.

A/N: I hope you enjoy. *bows*as promised, more of ritsuka and soubis' point of view. some spoilers up ahead for those who haven't read the manga, i give you fair warning.

* * *

~Mnemosyne~

-Canvas and Camera-

None of it belonged to him.

Not Mom. Not Soubi. He didn't even own this life. The bed he slept in, the school he attended in, the friends he had-all of it, all of it, in a twisted way, belonged to this child.

Ritsuka watched the butterfly drift upwards. That was exactly how he felt, he thought. Like he was drifting away. He lost track of the conversation between his Sentouki and his younger self as he remembered what he said in one of his therapy sessions with Katsuko-sensei.

"_If the old Ritsuka came back, what would you do?"_

"_I'll tell him it's all right for him to come back now."_

It was laughable, surely! But he couldn't find it within himself to be able to say those words to this child. It was…unfair. It was only lately that he realized that he was himself, that he liked the life he was living. Seimei's plans were dark clouds in the horizon, but he had thought he could face it as long as he had the others by his side.

But now…

Was he merely a snapshot in the real Ritsuka's life? Would he vanish now that _he_ was here?

He didn't want to. Truly, he didn't. He didn't want to vanish, or to forget. He didn't want to leave Yuiko, Yayoi-san, Shinonome-sensei, or Katsuko-sensei.

Especially not...

His fingers clenched around Soubi's, not to reassure himself of his Fighter's presence, but to reassure himself that he, the current Ritsuka, was still there. Soubi responded with equal emotion, almost crushing his hand in his grip.

The younger Ritsuka was speaking. "Where's Aniki?"

It was a question that he'd repeated a few times already. And he still didn't know how to answer him. "Seimei…"

"Seimei's busy," Soubi supplied smoothly. "He's gone on a trip, and may not be back for a while."

"But why didn't he tell me?" the younger Ritsuka was petulant. "Seimei always does."

"He had to be called suddenly. He sent me to tell you instead."

"Oh." Young Ritsuka's ears twitched as he accepted that explanation easily. "Will he be back in time for my birthday? How do you know Seimei?"

"Seimei didn't tell me when he was coming back. I'm his…servant, of a sorts."

It was so believable, Soubi's lies. Ritsuka took a deep breath as he intuited that Soubi could lie just as easily to him as he did to the other Ritsuka.

"You're Seimei's servant? But Aniki's _really_ bossy." The younger Ritsuka's voice was mildly concerned. "And you said that I'm going to stay with you tonight?"

To know that Soubi could lie to the younger Ritsuka was different than knowing that Soubi was a liar. Hadn't he ordered him to always tell him the truth?

"It's only temporary." Soubi replied.

Soubi and the current Ritsuka had argued heatedly about where the younger Ritsuka was going to be staying. Soubi believed that the younger Ritsuka was an attack, an illusion, a word-spell, by another fighter pair. Or maybe he was even sent by Seimei, a follower of his who was brainwashed into thinking that he was Aoyagi Ritsuka. The child may or may not have been innocent. Whatever the case, Soubi didn't want Ritsuka alone with him. Soubi wanted to leave the younger Ritsuka at Ritsuka's house while his Ritsuka, the real Ritsuka, stayed at Soubi's house.

Ritsuka, however, didn't want to leave the younger Ritsuka to be left with Misaki. If the younger Ritsuka was truly an attack or a fake, he didn't want to put his mother at risk. What might happen?

In the end, Soubi had reluctantly agreed that the best solution would be to have the younger Ritsuka stay with him. The Zero pair was still there, and the chances of the younger Ritsuka overpowering Soubi and the Zero boys combined was small.

But even if the younger Ritsuka was a fake, it still shook him. He was so…so much like the Ritsuka he'd heard described. The current Ritsuka had seen his school records. He knew that before he lost his memory, he was supposed to have been an energetic, popular child.

Exactly like this one was.

And he knew, deep down in his heart, that this was no fake.

He just couldn't explain how he knew. With an effort, he pulled himself into the present.

"Well, can I tell Mom? She'll freak if I'm not home before six. I'll tell her in person."

"We'll tell her."

"But what am I supposed to wear?" the younger Ritsuka wailed. "Come on, let me go home! You're not kidnappers, are you? Well, prove it!"

"Ritsuka…"

"It's all right," the current Ritsuka said. "We can…probably manage it, if we're careful."

Soubi's face darkened. "We'll go through the balcony."

/ | \

\ | /

Soubi looked at his Ritsuka and felt his own heart break a little. Obviously, the current Ritsuka was confused and scared. He felt the same, but reacted differently. As a Fighter he must protect his Sacrifice at all costs. In his mind, he had decided that this younger Ritsuka was a threat.

However, his heart…couldn't imagine raising a hand to harm this boy. If he was an attack or an impostor, he had been trained well.

He knew no other Ritsuka other than the one he had been protecting and loving for the past six months. He thought that he didn't need to know any other. He knew that his Ritsuka was worried about his lost memories, but if he had to think about it, he might've said that there were no memories that could be erased so easily. Maybe, he would've said, someday, the memories of the old Ritsuka would merge with the current one.

It was what he hoped, for this Sacrifice called Loveless. He may never be truly his Fighter, but he could hope for his well-being.

The young Ritsuka ran away from them a few steps, then looked back to see if they were following. They weren't, both man and boy were frozen in place.

"We haven't got all day," the younger Ritsuka said patiently.

Soubi moved first. He gave his Ritsuka a reassuring squeeze on his hand, then walked after the other Ritsuka. His Ritsuka followed him.

The walk wasn't that far, but Soubi realized quickly that the younger Ritsuka couldn't be quiet for very long. The younger Ritsuka peered at the current Ritsuka curiously, then said, "Hey, you said your name was Ritsuka too, didn't you?"

"Yes," his Ritsuka mumbled.

"Do you live at my house too? And we have the same Mom? Is Seimei your brother too?" the younger Ritsuka spoke rapidly.

His Ritsuka only nodded.

"Hmm." The younger Ritsuka turned around and walked backward, keeping his eyes on the current Ritsuka. "And we look so much alike. I wonder why."

A troubled look came over into the younger Ritsuka's face then, as if he had only realized that there was something wrong. He turned back forward, keeping his face averted. He was completely silent until they arrived at the Aoyagi home.

They both knew enough by now that this was somehow wrong for the younger Ritsuka.

What was this feeling stirring up in Soubi? For some reason he wanted to hold that child, tell him it was okay. But that would mean letting go of the current Ritsuka, who he'd sworn to love and obey. He despised himself for even thinking about it.

The younger Ritsuka reached the door first, but he didn't turn the knob.

"What's the matter?" the current Ritsuka asked.

The younger Ritsuka stared at the ground. "Agatsuma-san said that we'll go through the balcony."

"Come with me," Soubi said. He kissed the current Ritsuka on the top of his head, then held a hand out to the younger one. The younger Ritsuka and the current Ritsuka hesitated, but both moved like a coordinated dance- the younger one to Soubi and the current one to the door.

_I don't want you_, Soubi thought. _Who are you?_

"We'll see you later, Ritsuka," Soubi said. They would pretend that they would tell Misaki of her "son"'s whereabouts. When it was all clear, present-day Ritsuka would come up to his room, where Soubi and past Ritsuka would be waiting. Then they would let the younger Ritsuka get anything he thought he would need for a sleepover.

The present Ritsuka nodded, and entered the house. In turn, Soubi led the younger Ritsuka to the side of the house, where he used to climb up Ritsuka's balcony.

/ | \

\ | /

The decorative brickwork running down the sides of the house, nearest to Ritsuka's room, provided handholds and footholds for an exceptionally agile person. Soubi never had problems before, but he thought hard about how he could get the younger Ritsuka up there without breaking his neck.

"You'll have to climb on my back," Soubi said finally.

The younger Ritsuka nodded. Soubi knelt, and the younger Ritsuka clambered up it, encasing Soubi in a death grip.

"You don't have to hold me so tightly," Soubi said, trying to speak without choking. "I'm not going to let you fall."

"I'm not scared of _that_," the younger Ritsuka whispered, but said no more. He buried his head into Soubi's back.

Soubi stiffened. He searched for differences between the young Ritsuka and his Ritsuka, but apart from the personality and the way they spoke, he could find none. The younger Ritsuka's hands were as gentle as ever. _What was he scared of, then? _

No.

It was Soubi who was supposed to be more scared, wasn't it? And he was. Soubi was scared-because this was something he did not know how to fight. He'd been paralyzed with guilt and horror once he realized that Seimei was back and could **STILL** order him around, and he'd been scared all along that the real Loveless Sentouki would turn up and take his Ritsuka away, leaving him with nothing. But how could he fight this? How could he protect Ritsuka from it?

There was a soft shifting of weight on his back. To Soubi it sounded like the past Ritsuka sighed softly, once, then was still.

But…

Soubi stood and climbed up the bricks. If there was the slightest, slimmest chance that the boy on his back was the real past Ritsuka, not an illusion, not a decoy, not a brainwashed follower of Seimei's, nor an attack, he had to protect this child.

Or else, in this child's future, he would not meet Soubi.

And Soubi could not risk a world without Ritsuka.

\ | /

/ | \

They landed gently outside the balcony's glass doors. The present-day Ritsuka wasn't there yet. The past-day Ritsuka dropped from his back and stepped away from him.

"Ne, Agatsuma-san…" the younger Ritsuka began.

Soubi looked at him.

"I…never mind." The younger Ritsuka sighed. He sat down on the balcony and braced his back against the wall. "We wait?"

"Yes."

Soubi absentmindedly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The younger Ritsuka was hugging his knees, head buried, but after Soubi had taken a few puffs he straightened, startled.

"Hey!"

"What is it?"

The younger Ritsuka was staring at him as if he'd gone mad. "You can't smoke in here!"

"Why?" was Soubi's calm answer.

"Gah!" the younger Ritsuka spluttered. He reached up and snatched the cigarette out of Soubi's lips, then threw it out as far as he could. It reached the pavement across the street.

The Sentouki watched it, then turned to the younger Ritsuka. The younger Ritsuka was still glaring at him, and he looked exactly like his Ritsuka that it took his breath away.

And that split second when the younger Ritsuka's hand was so close to his lips-

"Mom will know someone was here! Are you crazy? And anyway, cigarettes are bad for you." The younger Ritsuka snorted. "You should know that."

Still taken aback, Soubi didn't say a word.

"What are you arguing about?" his Ritsuka said, opening the glass door. Soubi had been so preoccupied with the younger Ritsuka that he hadn't seen him come into his room at last.

"Agatsuma-san was smoking in the balcony!" accused the younger Ritsuka.

"Soubi, I told you not to do that," the present-day Ritsuka said.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka."

"How come you apologize to him and not to me?" the younger Ritsuka complained.

Soubi was saved from the sticky dilemma of having to answer, thankfully, because the younger Ritsuka had opened what he thought was "his" closet.

"All the clothes here are too big for me."

"Try the bottom drawer," the present day Ritsuka said quietly.

The younger Ritsuka reached down and opened a drawer smelling of mothballs. That drawer contained all of Ritsuka's old clothes, clothes that would be perfect for the child. The younger Ritsuka pulled out a bag from another cabinet and began to pack.

"Did your mother hurt you, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked his Sacrifice as the younger Ritsuka chose his clothes.

"No," Ritsuka said. He seemed depressed. "She hugged me and said that I was back. She thought I was the real Ritsuka."

Although Soubi was relieved that Ritsuka wasn't harmed, he could see too much irony in Misaki's statement. Here in the room was the Ritsuka that Misaki wanted, but it wasn't the present-day Ritsuka. That was the reason why Ritsuka was depressed, even though he was also happy.

"What did Mom say?" the younger Ritsuka asked. "About me staying over?"

"She said it was okay," the present-day Ritsuka said.

"Did she look for me? Or did she think that you were me?"

"She…wait. How did you know that?"

The younger Ritsuka shrugged. "Well, she was acting weird this morning, so I thought she wouldn't recognize me."

"What do you mean, this morning? Mom saw you already?" Present-day Ritsuka's voice became a squeak of alarm.

"She fed me breakfast," he heard the younger Ritsuka say.

But Soubi had just realized something important. Even before Ritsuka's amnesia, Misaki had been mentally unstable.

Not for the first time, Soubi wondered what had caused her descent to madness.

"I left my toothbrush in the bathroom," the younger Ritsuka said suddenly. "I'll go and get it."

/ | \

\ | /

The younger Ritsuka almost never walked, he ran or bounced. Now he ran to the bathroom and rummaged the shelves for his toothbrush.

He couldn't find it.

Strange. His toothbrush wasn't one of the things that he habitually lost, for how could he lose it anyway? So all right, there was that one time when he went to Shinichi-kun's house and he left it there, but he got it back the very next day.

He put the toothbrush cup back on the shelf. There were only two toothbrushes there.

He was beginning to get scared. Where were the other's toothbrushes? There were always four toothbrushes in that cup…

He walked out of the bathroom and saw the big calendar hanging by the stairwell. He began to shake. The current year was two years further than what he had known yesterday.

"No," he whispered.

He ran back to Seimei's room. It was as he had remembered it that morning-neat, but dusty. The bed was made, as if no one had slept in it in a long time. The calendar that Seimei used to have on his desk was gone. When he opened Seimei's closet, it was empty.

What was happening?

There was a single sheet of paper on Seimei's desk. The younger Ritsuka picked it up.

The world turned upside down.

It was Seimei's death certificate.

/ | \

\ | /

Both Ritsuka and Soubi jumped when they heard an anguished scream from the room next to where they were.

They exploded into action, running out of Ritsuka's room as fast as they could. They heard a thump, then the scream stopped.

"Ritsuka? Ritsuka?" Misaki called worriedly. They heard her running up the stairs.

"I'm all right, Mom," Ritsuka called back, stopping her in her tracks. "I just dropped my bag on my foot."

There was a hesitant pause. "Well…all right then. Dinner will be ready soon."

Present-day Ritsuka hurried to Seimei's room only to find Soubi holding the unconscious younger Ritsuka. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Soubi whispered, "But I think he saw this."

Soubi handed him a thin sheet of paper. Present-day Ritsuka took it. It was Seimei's death certificate.

"But, how…I mean, that wasn't there before…" Ritsuka trailed off. He looked down at "himself". There were the beginnings of tears starting at the corners of "his" eyes.

All of a sudden Ritsuka felt overwhelming pity. The younger Ritsuka didn't know about Seimei's faked death. He must have thought that the legal document, stamped with cold hospital seals, was the truth. It wasn't the way that he would've chosen for his younger self to find out, and anyway the words were all lies.

He put a hand into the younger Ritsuka's and was surprised when the other child caught his hand in a firm grip. After a while, it loosened, but didn't let go. Reluctantly, he slipped his hand out.

"Ritsuka. I'll take him to my house now." Soubi said, picking the younger Ritsuka up carefully.

"But…"

"I'll be back, I promise. If we stay here longer, your mother might see us."

"Call me as soon as he wakes up," Ritsuka said. "That's an order."

Despite himself, Soubi smiled. "Yes, Master."

/ | \

\ | /

Soubi carried the boy all the way to his house. It was small, merely a cottage, really, but it was better than an apartment where there might be people who would see the burden in his arms.

The younger Ritsuka was shaking in his unconsciousness. Soubi thought at first that it was from the cold, but even when he had wrapped the boy in his coat, he continued to tremble.

Ah, Soubi thought. It wasn't from the cold then. It was from fear, and grief. Soubi himself remembered it well from the time that he thought Seimei had died.

Soubi had wished, more than once, that he had been with Ritsuka immediately after the news of Seimei's "murder", if only to help him cope with it. There was some part in Soubi that believed that he wouldn't have had to live like a zombie (Kio's words, not his) if he had met Ritsuka sooner.

Now he had gotten his wish, in a left handed way. He opened the hut's door with one hand and came inside.

"Hey! What happened to Loveless?"

He winced. He had forgotten that Nagisa had sent the Zero boys to live with him again. Natsuo and Youji crowded against him, babbling nonstop.

"Did you get into a fight?"

"Were they sent by Seimei?"

"Hey, why are you carrying a big bag, Soubi?"

"Did Loveless run away with you?"

"Who attacked you, Soubi?"

"Is Loveless going to stay here?"

"Quiet!" Soubi finally snapped. "Can't you see he's sleeping?"

"Geez, no need to be touchy," Youji said boredly.

"Yeah, we just wanted to know what happened," Natsuo added. He took a closer look at "Ritsuka" and said, "He seems smaller."

The younger Ritsuka's cat ears twitched at the noise. Soubi gently laid him down on his spare bed.

"Hey, that's OUR bed!" Natsuo protested.

"I never asked you to be here," Soubi said. "I can use the bed however I like."

Youji snorted. "Well, I'm sure that we can share the bed with him. He won't mind, and we'd done it before."

Soubi gave them a sweet smile. "Ritsuka has told me not to kick you out of the house, but there's nothing stopping me from making your stay very uncomfortable. Don't tempt me."

"We'd better stop, Youji," Natsuo advised.

/ | \

\ | /

The younger Ritsuka dreamed that he was walking alone in the dark, with only a candle in his hand to light his way. He was looking for Seimei, but he couldn't find him.

"Aniki? Seimei-nii?"

Out of the darkness, a familiar voice responded. "I'm right here, Ritsuka."

The younger Ritsuka's tail swished back and forth as he turned. That voice sounded so close. He stretched out his hand so that his pitiful candle could try to penetrate more of the overwhelming darkness.

"I can't see you!" Young Ritsuka's voice was tight with anxiety.

A cold breeze. "Blow out your candle, Ritsuka," Seimei purred. "Blow out your candle and you'll see me."

"But that doesn't make sense! Aniki-"

A sudden wind snuffed out his candle, and he was engulfed in the suffocating blackness. Almost at once he screamed, because there were arms around him.

"Found you." Whispered a voice directly into his ear.

"_**Seimei**_!"

/ | \

Youji and Natsuo had been peering with fascination at the younger Ritsuka's face when his eyes shot open. "Seimei!" he screamed.

The Zero boys fell backward in surprise. The younger Ritsuka sat up, looking disoriented. He glanced at the room, rubbing his eyes. "Where am I?" he muttered.

"Soubi's house, of course," Youji said, recovering first. "Don't you recognize it?"

The younger Ritsuka frowned. "Do I know you?"

Natsuo's mouth fell open. "Don't you know who we are?"

"No."

"Soubi! Soubi, something's wrong with Loveless!" Natsuo got up and went into the kitchen, where the smell of food was coming from. Youji and Ritsuka were left, in a staring contest.

"Who are you?" Ritsuka asked at last.

"I'm Youji, and the one who left is Natsuo. We're Zero. Say, did you get into a fight?"

Youji's casual words brought back memories of why he passed out. "Seimei-"

Soubi came into the room, trailed by a worried Natsuo. "How are you feeling?" Soubi asked the younger Ritsuka.

"Is Seimei dead?" the younger Ritsuka asked.

"Hey, hey, what's this? Didn't you just see him a month ago? Of course he's not dead," Natsuo said, surprised. Now that the younger Ritsuka was awake, they could see subtle differences, like how wide his orchid-violet eyes were, and how small he was. His hair was shorter.

"He's not…the Ritsuka that you knew," Soubi said, struggling with the words. "He's…"

"I'm the past Ritsuka, aren't I?" the younger Ritsuka said, with pure terror in his voice. "I'm Ritsuka from two years ago. But why am I here? How did I come here? Where's Aniki, if he's not dead? Why does he have a death certificate? Why is Mom that way?" He swallowed his tears. He shouldn't cry, that was for babies. "Is this a dream? I want to go home. How will I get home?"

Now even Youji was looking stunned. "Can someone please explain what's going on here?"

/ | \

\ | /

The explanation didn't last long, since neither Soubi nor the younger Ritsuka knew how the situation came to be. But when it came to the part where the younger Ritsuka wanted to have his questions answered, Soubi left the task to the Zero boys and locked himself in his room.

"Psh. That Soubi, leaving the dirty work to us," Youji said in irritation.

"Ne, but even the past Loveless is cute," Natsuo commented. "We wouldn't mind spending some time with you."

"What's this "Loveless" you keep talking about?" the younger Ritsuka asked with a sniffle. It was the closest he could come to holding back his tears.

Youji and Natsuo exchanged a quick look. "I think we need to start with the Fighter system," Youji decided. "Mind you, we don't know everything either, and we especially don't know much about Seimei."

Youji and Natsuo explained the Fighter System to past-day Ritsuka, and the younger Ritsuka listened carefully. Youji and Natsuo both said that no person could have two fighters, nor two Sacrifices, so their situation was most unusual.

And then they also explained about Seimei, how he was believed to be dead for two years, but had come back.

"How did he…" Ritsuka gulped. "Pretend to die?"

"Well, the body was tied up in your chair in elementary school and was burned," Youji said. "He was only identified by his dental records."

The younger Ritsuka frowned. "Seimei doesn't have any dental records."

"What do you mean?"

"Aniki never went to hospitals or dentists because he hated to be touched by anyone other than me," the younger Ritsuka explained. "He was always healthy, and the few times he was sick or injured, I was always the one to take care of him."

"That's true, he never had any medical records until about a year before he faked his death," Natsuo said thoughtfully. "I heard Nagisa-sensei say so."

Seimei wasn't clear on what his exact plans were, but he was prepared to destroy the Seven Moons to get it.

"What's the Seven Moons?"

And so they explained about the Seven Moons Academy. The explanations lasted throughout the dinner, and by the time they finished, all their plates were cleared.

At the end of it, the younger Ritsuka sat silently.

He wasn't interested in claiming Soubi as his fighter the same way the current Ritsuka did. He didn't even understand that part very well. But if it was a spell that landed him here, he was sure that he could ask for help from the current Ritsuka and Soubi. After all, they seemed to want him to go back as well.

Also, he wanted to see his Aniki. He couldn't believe in what they were saying, that his Aniki was bad. He thought that he only spoke with Seimei, everything would be clear.

"Where's Agatsuma-san?" the younger Ritsuka asked suddenly.

"Oh, I think he's painting in his room," Natsuo said. "Why, are you interested in claiming him after all?"

"No! I just…wondered."

Youji's face split into a wide grin. "Hey, Natsuo, since there are two Ritsuka's here, I think we should call this one by a different name."

"Hmm, you're right, Youji. So do you have any ideas?"

"Don't talk about me as if I'm not right here…" the younger Ritsuka growled.

"I know!" Youji exclaimed, ignoring the younger Ritsuka. "Let's call him Chibi! Chibi-Ritsuka!"

"That's a great name! Chibi! We'll call you by that now," Natsuo decided.

"Don't call me weird things!" He took a swipe at Youji, which missed.

"Wow, Chibi is even more short-tempered than Loveless," Youji laughed, backing away.

"And don't call me Loveless, either!"

They had reached the sitting room. The younger Ritsuka grabbed a pillow and threw it at Youji's face. It hit the spot dead on, but two seconds later he was bopped by another pillow, this time coming from Natsuo.

"Hey!"

/ | \

\ | /

Soubi wet his paintbrush and dipped it in paint. He transferred the brush to canvas and moved his arm in steady strokes.

He had already called Ritsuka. "He knows now" was the topic of their conversation. Soubi was going to come over, but now, he needed to get his thoughts into some sort of order. He simply couldn't face his sacrifice like this…So he turned to painting.

Kio had always said that he painted his best art when he was depressed. That wasn't true, at least the depressed part. He didn't paint better when he was depressed.

He painted best when he was in pain.

Seimei's death, his sudden return…these two things had made him paint so beautifully that people's hearts were touched. Soubi didn't think he was that selfless, painting so that he could transform his pain into something worthwhile. His paintings portrayed his feelings deeply, and he wanted the world to share it, take away a little of the pain-

His door burst open. Soubi glanced up sharply, ready to throw the Zero boys out the door if they disturbed him, but it wasn't the Zero boys.

It was the younger Ritsuka who darted inside, giggling. He sped to the bed, snatched up Soubi's pillows, and said very quickly, "I'm out of ammunition for the pillow fight!"

"You're what?" Soubi said slowly.

"I'm just going to borrow these," said the younger Ritsuka, as if that explained anything. He peeked at Soubi's canvas. "Nice painting." Then he was out again, shutting the door behind him. A moment later he could hear the Zero boys and the younger Ritsuka clowning around his sitting room.

Soubi stared at the closed door, then sighed. It was going to be a long night.

/ | \

\ | /

Kaidou Kio heard the shouts of laughter even through the thick wooden door. He sighed. That meant that those kids were back again, but-was that Ritsuka's voice he heard? Odd. It seemed that Ritsuka was actually laughing, when Kio had never heard him laugh before. Granted, his time with the younger Aoyagi was limited, so he just shrugged it off.

He opened the door. "Sou-chan, I brought din-"

A pillow whapped him in the face. There were more shouts of laughter.

"You got him, Youji!"

"You boys…" Kio ranted, picking up the pillow. "What do you think you're doing?"

"He got mad! He got mad!" the boy who he thought was Ritsuka taunted Youji and Natsuo from where he was hiding behind the couch. "You lost!"

"Ritsuka, what are you doing here? Is Sou-chan injured again?"

"He's painting," the boy answered. "Who are you?"

"Is this supposed to be a prank? I'm Kio, of course," he deadpanned. Even as he said it, he paused. "Hey…"

The door to Soubi's room opened. "Sou-chan!" Kio said in relief as his friend appeared. "What's Ritsuka's doing here? You pervert!"

"I'm not a pervert, Kio," said Soubi automatically. "And I think that I'd rather you didn't visit now."

"Why?" All his thoughts of teasing Soubi vanished as he tearfully clutched the front of Soubi's shirt. "Sou-chan! And here I brought dinner for us to share!"

Soubi looked at him. "I'm sorry, Kio," he said before he turned and locked himself up inside his room again.

"Sou-chan!" Kio called after him. "You can't lock yourself in your room and paint every time you have a problem, you know!"

There was no response. Kio sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it for now. Most likely it had something to do with Aoyagi…either one of the brothers.

"Now," Kio said, looking back and forth at the three kids, "Which one of you wants to tell me what happened?"

* * *

A/N: This will be short-introducing new characters takes much out of me.

forgive the past ritsuka for being slow to realize what happened. it's just his way. this chapter explores more of the reasons why the past ritsuka is here-like if he's an attack or an illusion or a decoy by seimei.

thanks to all those who added this to their alerts list. Squee's to promocat, YellOwbutterfly, and Roman Juliet- you guys know why. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

and you, reader, who have read up to here, simply must clicky the review button. i'd love to hear what YOU think. as you can see, i follow most scenery from the manga.

what characters do you want to see more of?

how can i improve?

thanks, and i hope you enjoyed it. let me know?


	4. Dangerous Boy

Disclaimer: I own nobody but the younger Ritsuka! *huggles*

A/N: Remember what I said in chapter 1, that this would only take five or so chapters? well, i'm not sure if you, dear reader, consider this as good news or not, but i think i'll hit double digits in the chapters for this fic. The word count for this chapter is more than twice the word count for the first three chapters combined. That should give you an idea to get comfy 'cause there's a loooong chapter in front of you.

What's up ahead: some mysteries solved, more unveiled. you'll get to see more of what the past Ritsuka is like, as well as some...complications. Erm...yes, i'm confusing you already, ne? Read and review.

* * *

Mnemosyne~

Four~

"Soubi," Ritsuka breathed. His fighter was in his balcony, as he'd promised earlier. He was back.

Ritsuka rushed to the glass doors. He fumbled with the lock, and let Soubi in.

Immediately, Soubi knelt in front of him. "Ritsuka. What's wrong?"

Ritsuka laughed bitterly as he processed that question. "You really have to ask?"

Soubi winced. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka had been a stew of worry and nerves all evening since Soubi and the younger Ritsuka had gone, and it was only the narrowest margins that he's escaped his mother's punishment. It was one of those days when he was lucky enough to remember what food the real Ritsuka didn't like…

The real Ritsuka.

And now he'd been horrible to Soubi. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it was. It was a stupid question." Soubi embraced him, and just this once, he allowed him to, even returned the affectionate gesture.

"Will you be leaving me soon?" Ritsuka murmured. "He's here…the real Ritsuka."

"I won't ever leave you, Ritsuka."

_Liar, Liar_, Ritsuka thought. "What if Seimei ordered you to?"

Soubi became still.

"What if he told you to leave me? And the younger me would be yours?" Ritsuka persisted. "What then?"

"I…Ritsuka-"

"_Well_?"

Ritsuka could see that the Fighter was clearly reluctant to answer his question. Seimei's influence over Soubi was like a deep, dark, stormy ocean that Ritsuka could not penetrate, much less begin to understand. That time at the Seven Moons Academy, Ritsuka had dismissed Soubi's apologies at letting his brother go, because there was a part of Ritsuka that WANTED to let Seimei go, though he'd never admit it outright.

"Order me, Ritsuka." Soubi leaned his head on Ritsuka's shoulder. "Order me to find out if this boy is truly you from the past."

"You're dodging the question. Does that mean that I'm right? You'll leave me if Seimei ordered you to?"

"I won't want to."

Ritsuka's heart was full of fear, confusion, and a kind of frustrated resignation. "But you will. If Seimei ordered you to!" He pulled away from the blonde's grasp. "I knew it…"

There was a silence. Soubi's hands clutched the empty air. He was in agony without the current Ritsuka in his arms. "Would you like him to disappear then?"

Ritsuka paled. "Soubi! He's me. Would you kill me?"

"But we aren't sure about that," Soubi countered. "How can we say that he is truly you? Order me to confirm it, Ritsuka."

But was that what he wanted?

Ritsuka closed his eyes. When he opened them, he had an order ready for Soubi.

"Soubi. Protect the younger Ritsuka as you would protect me. And never let Seimei find out about him!"

/ | \

\ | /

Soubi's eyes widened with surprise. Ritsuka's voice rang with a sense of…responsibility? Yes, that was it.

Ritsuka's internal conflict was that he was afraid of the younger Ritsuka, but also was intrigued by him. There was no one around who could tell the present-day Ritsuka what the past Ritsuka was like, and what better way to find out than from the past Ritsuka himself?

No. Ritsuka would not want the past Ritsuka harmed, but moved warily of him, always remembering that they were different-oh, they were so different, but they were also the same.

"Yes, Master." Soubi acquiesced.

"If Seimei finds out about him…I don't know what he'll do." Ritsuka's face was full of dread at the thought of what his older brother planned. "And the younger me…he wouldn't understand."

"I think he understands Seimei, somewhat." Soubi said.

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka sat down on the swiveling computer chair and Soubi sat on his usual position on the floor beside the bed.

"He knows that Seimei is dangerous and bossy," Soubi pointed out.

"But I could've told you that."

"Exactly. That means that he's not as innocent as you think."

Ritsuka gasped. "Soubi. He might know things…things that you have been keeping from me. The Seven Moons…"

"No, he didn't know about the Seven Moons, although he knows about as much as you do now, because the Zero pair had told him."

The younger boy was completely distracted by this bit of news. "He knows now? Natsuo and Youji told him everything! Why didn't you tell me this on the phone?"

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka."

Ritsuka felt like banging his head against the wall. His tail puffed out, and his ears perked. "Tell me these kinds of things beforehand! That's an order, too!"

Soubi smiled. "As Ritsuka wishes."

/ | \

\ | /

The mood surprisingly got lighter after that. Ritsuka had been apprehensive upon hearing that the younger Ritsuka was left having a pillow fight with Youji and Natsuo. Kio was also with the younger Ritsuka, but Kio believed that the other Ritsuka was Ritsuka himself.

The night got deeper. As Soubi got up to leave, Ritsuka reached out.

"Ritsuka?"

"Will you stay with me?" Ritsuka asked shyly. _To make sure that I don't disappear in the morning,_ Ritsuka added in his mind.

It might be his turn next.

Soubi removed his coat. Ritsuka didn't have the foggiest idea what he was doing until his Sentouki suddenly scooped him up in his arms and laid him on the bed. A split second later, Soubi climbed in after him.

"Sou-!" Ritsuka protested, the words catching in his throat as Soubi hugged him close. Soubi's smell was everywhere, and it was so warm…

"I'll stay, Ritsuka," Soubi whispered. "Always."

Ritsuka was drifting off to sleep, feeling safe in Soubi's arms, but his last troubled thought was a question.

_If the younger Ritsuka gave you an order, would you obey it? If he asked you to stay with him, and leave me, would you obey?_

/ | \

\ | /

He was alone.

The younger Ritsuka thought for a second that he was in Seimei's room, that he was safe, but he was wrong. Instead of the clean smell of Seimei's bed, he was greeted by a faint smell of paint and cigarettes.

The younger Ritsuka sat up, carefully stepping over Youji and Natsuo's sleeping bodies. It was very dark, but the younger Ritsuka was not afraid of the dark.

He peeked into Soubi's room. Wherever he was, Agatsuma-san wasn't back yet. Chibi Ritsuka picked up the pillows they'd abandoned after the pillow fight and placed Soubi's on his bed. It was easy to identify them, since no one else's pillows smelled like tobacco.

The younger Ritsuka loved their house when it was very late at night. Everything was quiet, and dark, but so warmly familiar. Their mother was being quiet then. Sometimes he pretended that their house was an uncharted territory of the Earth, that he was an explorer. Several times, he explained the feeling to Seimei, and he seemed to understand.

Agatsuma-san had a balcony too. He opened the doors easily, and stepped out into the night.

The child looked up at the sky, and found that now he was alone, he couldn't fight back his tears. They came suddenly, a torrent, a flood. He sat down, sobbing, trying to keep his cries quiet. Everyone would say that he was a kid if they saw him crying.

"Seimei…" he wept into his arms. "Aniki…why am I here?"

Why, indeed? Why was he here? Who brought him here? He wanted his big brother. Seimei could explain everything, and not run away from him, like the other Ritsuka and Agatsuma-san.

He felt so…

Sad.

But that seemed inadequate to convey how he felt. He wanted to stomp his foot and say, "Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!" because all he did, really, was to fall asleep and then wake up to a completely different time. He was angry and annoyed and he wanted to hit somebody, anybody at all. He wanted his own life back, his own time.

And yet all he could do was cry.

What he needed was someone to hug him, Ritsuka thought. Seimei was always there for him whenever he was sad. But he didn't know where Aniki was right now. He couldn't get the comforting hug he needed like he needed air or water.

Eventually he hiccupped and his tears flowed more quietly. He wiped his face on his sleeves, then sneezed in the cold. Through his last tears he could see a starry sky.

Where was Agastuma-san? Was he with the real Ritsuka? The older Ritsuka seemed scared of him, which the younger Ritsuka thought was idiotic. _He_ wasn't the one who wasn't in his correct time.

And the younger Ritsuka could feel that the older Ritsuka was with Soubi.

_You're lucky…_

_Because you at least have someone's arms around you. _

For the first time, the younger Ritsuka wished that he would just disappear. He had nothing and nobody. There was something very painful about being forced to hang around when it was obvious that people were afraid of you.

/ | \

\ | /

"He's gone, Soubi."

Those were the first words that Soubi heard upon his arrival back at his house.

"Who's gone?" Soubi asked blankly. "Kio?"

Youji sighed. "The other Ritsuka! Chibi! He's gone. We woke up this morning and couldn't find him."

The tall blond stared. Was it even possible? Was the younger Ritsuka a wordspell, after all-an attack designed to shake his and Ritsuka's relationship to its foundations?

A short attack?

"He's not in the bathroom either," Natsuo said, entering the room. "Where could he have gone?"

"You seem worried," Soubi remarked. Inside he was asking himself if it was so bad to be happy now that the other Ritsuka was gone.

"Of course we're worried. He's Loveless after all." Natsuo said simply.

_No, he's not. _

Soubi slipped into his room as Youji and Natsuo went out of the house, deciding to look for him elsewhere. Soubi noted that the younger Ritsuka's things were still there.

"_Protect the younger Ritsuka as you would protect me…"_

Suddenly the Sentouki felt as if he was electrocuted. Those words…Ritsuka's words.

He had to obey…needed to obey, but was it what he, himself wanted?

As he sat on his bed, wrestling with indecision, a voice behind him said, "What's for breakfast?"

Soubi jumped about a mile in the air. Then he whirled. The younger Ritsuka stood before him, rubbing his eyes.

"Where did you come from?" Soubi asked, but what he really wanted to know was how the younger Ritsuka had managed to open the door to his balcony without him hearing it.

He was a Fighter, one of the best, if not _the _best. That a nine-year-old child was able to move within six feet of him without him realizing it…

"I looked at the sky last night. I fell asleep in the balcony." The younger Ritsuka inclined his head slightly. "I'm hungry. Where's Youji and Natsuo?"

"They were looking for you." Soubi stood. His heart rate had returned to almost normal. "I'll make you breakfast."

/ | \

\ | /

Kio had turned up at the house at eight, ready to bodily kidnap Soubi if he planned on missing any more of his classes. Soubi had to give in.

"But…"

Youji grinned and wrapped an arm around the younger Ritsuka's shoulders. "We'll take care of Chibi."

"We won't let anything happen to him," Natsuo assured them. But of course, the Zero boys being who they were, Soubi wasn't reassured. He shot them a glare full of dire warning. The pair only smiled innocently back.

"Don't you have school, Ritsuka? It's Tuesday." Kio reminded the boy he thought was Ritsuka.

The younger Ritsuka shook his head. "Teacher's meeting," he lied easily.

"Let's go, Kio." Soubi said abruptly, taking Kio's arm.

Kio allowed himself to be led away, but his eyes narrowed. He was expecting some display of affection from Soubi to Ristuka, but it was odd.

Soubi seemed almost…wary of Ritsuka. Almost like he was afraid and angry at the same time.

It was extremely odd. Kio mentally reminded himself to ask Soubi about it.

/ | \

\ | /

Youji and Natsuo had their own money. They took the younger Ritsuka around the city, pointing out the differences.

However, despite the two years that had elapsed, the younger Ritsuka still knew where the best arcades and restaurants were. There was only one shop that had been closed down for the past two years. Youji, Natsuo and the younger Ritsuka spent most of the day playing arcades (the Zero pair always tag-teamed Chibi, which he thought was distinctly unfair) and eating food.

"You don't feel the cold?" the younger Ritsuka said, staring at Youji.

"Nope," Youji said. They were eating ice-creams. "For us, it's only sweet."

"That's sad."

"It's how we were made," Natsuo said.

Chibi didn't know what he meant. He knew, of course, that the Zero pair was made not to feel pain, but not to feel anything? Not even the creamy coldness of ice cream…"That's sad," he repeated.

"We don't know if it's sad or not because we never experienced it," Youji said reasonably.

"I guess," the younger Ritsuka said. "Where are we going to go next?"

"I don't know. What about you, Youji?" Natsuo asked his Sacrifice.

"Nowhere in particular. Ne, Chibi, do you have somewhere you want to go to?"

The first places that came into his head were his house and his school, but he couldn't go there anymore. Agatsuma-san had asked him not to go there without him or the other Ritsuka.

Then he thought of Aniki, but of course Youji and Natsuo didn't know where he was.

That left…

"Can you take me to Agatsuma-san's university?"

The Zero pair grinned evilly, and Chibi gulped nervously. He felt that they were going to grant his request, but he also felt that something bad was going to happen.

Something bad really soon.

/ | \

\ | /

"Wow, this place is really big!" chirped Chibi as he ran around the University grounds. There were a lot of people, but only a few stared at them as they passed.

Natsuo walked back to where Youji and the younger Ritsuka were waiting. "Soubi's college isn't that far from here," the auburn-haired Sentouki said, pointing in the direction of Soubi's building. "But we don't know where he'll be there."

"That's fine. You can call him, Chibi." Youji said.

"Who? Me?" Ritsuka asked, distracted from where he was teasing a stray kitten. "Why me? Can't you call him? I don't even have a phone."

Natsuo shook his head. "If he knows that we were here, he'll kick us out. But he won't kick YOU out, Chibi."

"Why?"

"Because you're still his Sacrifice. If you're really the younger Loveless, you can sense where he is."

The younger Ritsuka's eyes got wide. "Really? I can? How?"

"Just look for him in your mind. Man, you're as hopeless as your older self," sighed Youji. "You should see a chain connecting you to him."

Ritsuka gaped at him for a minute. Oh, if ONLY he had a power like that with Seimei! He'd find him in no time.

Chibi closed his eyes and did the thing he hated the most-concentrating. Agatsuma Soubi, Agastuma Soubi, he chanted over and over again in his mind.

Nothing happened.

Irked, he opened his eyes. "Nothing's happening," he complained.

"You've been at it for two seconds! Try again. This time call him with your whole self. Think of him. Only him. Find out where he is, but don't call out to him! The last thing we want is for him to throw us out." Youji ordered.

With an impatient snort, Ritsuka closed his eyes again.

Agatsuma Soubi. His smell, the cigarette scent that clung close to his body. His long fingers, painting so beautifully that night. His voice, slightly hoarse, always wary when he was with him, tender when he was with the other Ritsuka. That longish blonde hair, those eyeglasses. The weird bandages that poked out of his turtleneck…

The breakfast that he cooked for them that morning, his eyes the color of butterfly wings…

_Where are you?_

_/_

_/_

_/  
_

Suddenly the younger Ritsuka felt his forehead something extremely hard. His eyes shot open, his concentration easily broken as he fell backward on his butt. "Ow," he whined.

"Good work," Natsuo said. He was smiling.

Youji nodded. They were standing outside an auditorium. The thing that the younger Ritsuka had hit was a closed door. "I guess you're not hopeless after all."

"What…how did we get here?" Chibi said, amazed. The last thing that he remembered was the University Garden…

"You don't remember? You just suddenly started to walk with your eyes closed after the second exercise. We just followed you." Natsuo explained. Youji was already opening the door cautiously.

"I don't see him," Youji said a few minutes later, "But I see Kio. They're decorating the auditorium. He must be close."

"Closer than you think," Soubi said, appearing behind Natsuo.

The three boys flinched, then backed away from the glaring Sentouki.

"What do you think you're doing?" Soubi hissed. "How did you find me?"

"Well, Chibi knew where you-" Youji said. He looked around. "Where did he go? He was here…"

Natsuo turned to the door. It was still swinging, as if to guide their way.

/ | \

\ | /

The younger Ritsuka bounced to the platform. He could see Kio, and they were raising a giant dragonfly. He'd managed to get away when Agatsuma-san was lecturing the other two.

It was so big that Ritsuka was sure that he could ride it. He scrambled up the stage, and tapped Kio on his shirt hem. "Can that thing actually fly?"

Kio nearly dropped his share of the rope holding the dragonfly up in his shock. The dragonfly teetered dangerously.

"Kio!"

"Kaidou-kun!"

"Hey, watch it!"

Kio and Ritsuka lunged for the rope, and tugged it into place. With Kio's guidance, they tied it safely to a peg out of the way.

"That was close…" Kio panted. "Are you trying to kill us all?" He scolded Chibi. "Where did you come from?"

"From the door," the younger Ritsuka said, taking his question literally. Around them, Kio and Soubi's classmates were beginning to murmur about the younger Ritsuka.

Kio face-palmed. "Seriously, kiddo, who are you? You're not Ritsuka, but you look like him so you must be an Aoyagi. Ritsuka wouldn't do what you just did."

"He wouldn't?" repeated the younger Ritsuka curiously.

"Chibi!" a voice called. It was Natsuo, followed closely by Youji and Soubi.

"Sou-chan! Why did you invite them here?" Kio shouted. "You're getting more-"

"I thought they might like to see the decorations we made for the Ninth Month Festival*," Soubi cut him off, before his friend could declare to half the world how perverted he thought he was.

"Is that a kite? It is, isn't it?" the younger Ritsuka said in delight, staring up at the bug-eyed dragonfly. "Wow!"

"Cool," Natsuo commented.

"You two!" shouted a female with long reddish-black hair and Mediterranean dark eyes. "If Agatsuma-kun brings kids in here, they'd better help!"

Youji and Natsuo didn't budge, but the younger Ritsuka nodded earnestly and said, "How?"

"Here." The girl shoved a bucket of white paint at the younger Ritsuka. "The wooden board that we'll use as background isn't painted yet. Kio, Soubi, you tell these kids how."

"Hey, old hag, who do you think you-" Youji began, but Soubi put a hand over his mouth too.

"Of course, Megumi-san," Soubi said pleasantly. "I'll have to skip out early, though, because I still have another commitment."

"You always leave at this time of the day. What's the matter, Soubi, girl trouble?" Megumi said.

"Not at all."

At least, not a girl.

/ | \

\ | /

Kaidou Kio looked at the younger Ritsuka and the Zero boys as they painted the wide wooden board, laughing. It was a good thing that they were wearing aprons, because they were half covered in paint.

"Soubi," Kio finally said, "Who IS he?"

Soubi refused to meet his eyes. Refused to answer.

"Can't you even tell me his name?" Kio pressed. "He's an Aoyagi, isn't he? He looks so much like…"

"Don't." Soubi's voice was pained. "Don't say anything…nothing. Don't say any more."

"Sou-chan, don't do this to me," Kio begged. "I might not be able to solve your problems, but you need to talk about it, or you'll explode."

"Can you take them to my house, Kio?" Soubi requested, talking over Kio's pleas. "I need to fetch Ritsuka from his school."

Kio sighed. It was hopeless. He would have to ask someone else.

"Who's going to explode?" said the Ritsuka-look alike, skipping up to them with an empty bucket of paint. "I finished my part, so I'm going to go with you, Agatsuma-san!"

"Go where?"

"To the other Ritsuka's school!" The younger Ritsuka waved around his brush excitedly, getting some on Kio's hair.

"HEY!" Kio howled. "Watch it!"

"Oops…" the younger Ritsuka muttered. Kio began to chase him around the backstage, still howling like a banshee.

The younger Ritsuka took off his apron and threw the paint splattered article of clothing at Kio's face. Youji and Natsuo cheered as it hit bull's eye. Kio bellowed in anger, and the younger Ritsuka grabbed hold of Soubi's hand and ran away with him to the auditorium doors.

The younger Ritsuka had a surprisingly firm grip, Soubi noted absently as he was tugged along. It was no problem for Soubi to keep up with the younger Ritsuka, with his longer legs, but the younger Ritsuka moved like a restless hummingbird, never still.

"_You should run away, Ritsuka…and when you run, take me with you…_

_Please."_

The younger Ritsuka didn't stop until they were outside the building. He let go of Soubi to clutch at a stitch at his side.

"Did he follow?" Younger Ritsuka's eyes were bright as jewels, and his cheeks were a lovely crimson from all the running.

"I don't think so," Soubi said, entranced.

"You should…lead the…way," panted the younger Ritsuka. "We don't …go to… the same school… do we?"

Soubi shook his head. Amethysts and rubies…He sighed, then motioned for the younger Ritsuka to follow him.

"Youji and Natsuo said that you found me," Soubi said, remembering the words of the Zero pair. "What did they mean?"

They had arrived at the bus stop. "Oh, they said that because I'm still your Sacrifice I can find you if I wanted to. If I think about you very hard."

Soubi stood still. His heart was beginning to beat too fast again. This child…could find him?

Could find him, like a Sacrifice could do for his Fighter?

Ritsuka…His Ritsuka hadn't even mastered that yet…

A bus halted just in front of them, but Soubi stared at it without seeing it. The younger Ritsuka raised his eyebrows. "Hey, isn't this our bus?"

"Yes," Soubi said. The younger Ritsuka chose a window seat at the very back, but Soubi sat on his opposite side, trying to understand the implications if this child was the Ritsuka that Seimei had actually meant for Soubi to belong to.

/ | \

\ | /

Soubi and the younger Ritsuka got off at the stop nearest to the current Ritsuka's school but there were still a few streets to walk.

The younger Ritsuka knew where the only school in this area was, so he took off running in front of Soubi. Soubi was still disturbed by his thoughts, but he made sure that the younger Ritsuka was in his sight all the time.

The younger Ritsuka almost forgot that he was with someone. He saw an enormous dog, almost as big as he was. A big black dog chained to an expensive-looking lawn.

Ritsuka stepped closer, amazed. It had really sharp teeth. As he drew closer, the dog began to bark noisily. Still, the younger Ritsuka drew closer until he was half a foot away from the snarling mouth.

He knew this species of dog. Seimei had told him.

"A mastiff," the younger Ritsuka whispered. He was so close that the dog was straining at his chain to get to him. Still unafraid, the younger Ritsuka leant down, feeling the faintest trace of the dog's crazed breaths on his chain. The mastiff's muscles bulged. "Grrr!" the younger Ritsuka growled.

The dog went crazy, his paws just brushing the air in front of Ritsuka's shirt-

"WATCH OUT!" someone shouted. All of a sudden he was grabbed by his waist and dragged away from the dog. "What were you doing? He could have torn your head off!"

Soubi was grabbing him by the shoulders, desperation in his eyes.

The younger Ritsuka shoved him away. "I didn't need your help! I was okay!"

Soubi was so afraid that he failed Ritsuka's explicit orders. There were orders that he'd disobeyed, but there was too much at risk to disobey this one. He was beginning to believe that this child was indeed Ritsuka's past self. If he died here and now…"What if that dog broke his chain?"

The younger Ritsuka glared at him with the same eyes that would glare at him two years later-at least from the point of view of the younger Ritsuka. Then he opened his mouth and spoke the words that Soubi never forgot.

"It wouldn't have broken! That's what chains are for, you silly adult!"

/ | \

\ | /

When school let out that day, the current Ritsuka was still his melancholy self. Yuiko was so worried that she was staring to refer to herself in the third person again.

However, he was startled out of his brown study when he saw the two figures at the gate waiting for him.

Yes.

There were two.

Soubi, and-

"Ritsuka-niichan!" the younger Ritsuka said cheerfully, bounding up to him and waving. "Hi!"

The current Ritsuka gasped, then stared at Soubi. Soubi shook his head, telling him without words that it wasn't his idea.

"Who are you?" Yayoi asked, the only one who could speak. Both his friends were surprised at seeing someone who looked so much like Ritsuka, but they didn't really understand, because the younger Ritsuka had called him "nii-chan."

"I'm Touji**. Aoyagi Touji." The younger Ritsuka said, smiling charmingly.

"You're Ritsuka's little brother? I've never seen you before! You look so much like him!" Yuiko exclaimed.

"I've been living with our Dad. But today I came with Agatsuma-san to see Ritsuka-niichan! Who are your friends, nii-chan?"

Ritsuka couldn't speak, he still couldn't believe that his younger self had the nerve to prance up to him so boldly. In front of the whole school, no less.

What if they found out?

Or should the question be-

_Would anyone find out? _

They were so different, after all-

"I'm Yuiko."

"I'm Yayoi."

"Hmm, so Yuiko-neechan and Yayoi-niichan, huh," mused the boy who introduced himself as Touji. "Well, we have to go now, because Agatsuma-san promised us a treat!"

"Can't we go?" Yuiko was obviously taken with the younger Ritsuka. She looked beseechingly at Ritsuka.

"Nope, sorry, Yuiko-neechan!" the younger Ritsuka shook his head. "Today is a day for brothers."

_I don't have a brother...except for Seimei. And even **he**'s..._

"You're so cold to your friends, Ritsuka…" Yayoi scolded.

"Oh, I guess if it's your brother, then," Yuiko gave up.

"Come on come on!" sang the younger Ritsuka. He wriggled with impatience.

"Bye, Ritsuka! Bye, Touji-chan!"

And Ritsuka found that he had no choice but to follow.

/ | \

\ | /

The younger Ritsuka had taken charge of their outing.

"I wanted to see the sunset," he had announced. "It's still early, but we can go to the best place in time for it."

"The best place?" Soubi and the current Ritsuka asked together. But the younger Ritsuka only smiled and didn't answer.

Chibi took them first to a store, where he made Soubi buy food. At the last minute, Chibi also made Soubi buy a small package of fireworks.

Then they took a bus to the nearest mountain.

"I think I see where we're going," Soubi said, "But why did you want to see the sunset from there?"

"Because the view is the best there." Was the simple answer.

The current Ritsuka stared out of the window. Opposite him, the younger Ritsuka was kicking his feet with disinterest.

"I found it myself," the younger Ritsuka continued, "so no one else will see us."

The current Ritsuka had Soubi by his side. The younger Ritsuka stretched out his legs on the empty seat beside him, looking at the other pair with a longing he couldn't understand.

"Will I be like you someday?" the younger Ritsuka asked them.

No one answered.

/ | \

\ | /

It took them two hours to reach the top of the mountain, then another half-hour to the younger Ritsuka's secret place, which turned out to be a tunnel opening right up to the mountain cliff.

"There's no railing? Anyone might fall off," Ritsuka remarked, but Chibi was right. It had the best view of the city.

The tunnel opened out to a small ledge, the size of Ritsuka's room. Soubi looked at his two charges.

"It's too small," Soubi said. "We'll fall off."

"No, it's not," the younger Ritsuka countered. He sat down right at the cliff edge, and dangled his legs out, with empty air beneath his feet.

"You-" Ritsuka began.

With one fluid motion, Soubi carried the younger Ritsuka to safety. The younger Ritsuka pouted, but knew enough not to struggle.

When they were on steadier ground, Soubi set him down. The current Ritsuka heaved a sigh of relief.

"Are you always this much of a daredevil?" Ritsuka asked him.

"We," the younger Ritsuka corrected. "Are you afraid?"

"Who wouldn't be?"

"I was okay. Why are you afraid? We're the same, right? I'm not scared." The younger Ritsuka sat down again, taking the bag of food and inviting the other two to sit as well. In that small space, the younger Ritsuka revealed his true intentions.

"Don't you remember this, Ritsuka?" the younger Ritsuka began. "We've always known this place. And, we've always sat on the cliff edge. We were alone."

"I don't…remember." The current Ritsuka said, swallowing a choked cry. Would it be messing with the future to tell his younger self what happened?

"Why? I took pictures of it. It's in the album in the top cabinet of our room. Did something happen?"

"Not to the pictures," the current Ritsuka murmured.

His younger self seemed to have taken the situation much better than he did. He wasn't panicking anymore.

"Hey, Youji and Natsuo said that you can use word spells. Can you send me home with that, Agatsuma-san?"

Soubi's eyes widened. "I don't think-"

"He's right," the current Ritsuka said. "Him being here isn't…"

"Isn't right," supplied the younger Ritsuka. "So can you?"

"I can't, Ritsuka," Soubi said, suddenly terrified. His blue eyes were wide, and his hands shook. "If it's really a spell that sent him here, it's probably a word spell that was unique to the Fighter Unit that cast it. And even if I can…what if I sent the younger you to the wrong time?"

The Sentouki looked truly distressed. Both Ritsukas, as one, decided silently not to ask any more about Soubi attempting to send the younger Ritsuka back.

"Why Touji?" the current Ritsuka asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"The name that you gave Yuiko. Why did you say your name was Touji?"

"Oh," Chibi said absently, "Mom said that if she had another son he would've named him that."

They ate silently and watched the sunset. The current Ritsuka took a few pictures, so that he would have a memory of his own.

"I'll take your pictures," the younger Ritsuka offered. "You can stand with Agatsuma-san."

The younger Ritsuka positioned them so that the sun wasn't directly behind them.

"What about you?" the current Ritsuka asked his younger self. "I can take your pictures too."

"All right. Let's take a picture of us together." The younger Ritsuka giggled. "I wonder if we'll all turn up."

/ | \

\ | /

They made their way down the mountain. Although Soubi didn't think that he could be completely happy with all that had happened, his Ritsuka was more relaxed around the younger Ritsuka. For that, Soubi was almost content.

Soubi should've known, however, that there would be trouble ahead.

At the bus stop, two people stood waiting. As soon as the strangers saw them, they smiled.

Soubi automatically positioned his body so that he stood between the Fighter Unit and his Sacrifice.

"Augh. Akira, you didn't do it good enough," said the girl. She had violet streaks in her spiky black hair, and green eyes. No ears. She looked about Soubi's age. "They spotted us."

"Who are you?" Soubi demanded.

"Sorry, Anita." Answered the other girl. She was younger than Anita, and had curly, ash-blond hair and grey eyes. She looked to be around high school, and she still had her ears. "We are Merciless. We've come to deliver a message."

"A message? From who?" the younger Ritsuka asked curiously. He emerged from Soubi's protective shadow.

"What the…" Anita whispered, looking from the younger Ritsuka to the older Ritsuka.

Akira, too, looked stunned. "Who's the real Ritsuka?"

Both Ritsukas didn't answer.

They had been caught. They had been seen. They stared at each other, not one of them uttering a single word.

"Who sent you?" Soubi asked at last.

"Seimei," Anita said, recovering first. "Seimei had asked us to give you this-" she pulled out a cell phone from her jacket pocket. "But we can play with you for a while. I don't know how this happened, but it should be interesting."

"Systems engage." Akira intoned. "We declare a spell battle."

Soubi opened his mouth He didn't know what would happen if he fought with two Sacrifices… "We de-"

"We accept," the younger Ritsuka said.

The world turned black, outlined in white.

"Why did you do that?" the older Ritsuka asked.

"Don't you want to know what Aniki wanted to tell us?"

"We are Merciless. We will show no mercy towards our enemies, because we know none." Akira and Anita chanted. They clasped hands.

"We are Loveless," Soubi announced. He had his Ritsuka behind him. The younger Ritsuka, bolder, stood by his side, looking at the Merciless with bright interest.

"The mirrors reflect the images of confusion. The enemy does not know who to attack." Akira said immediately.

This was rare, then. That a fighter pair would start with defense. Mirrors were erected all around them distorting every image of their enemy.

"Where are they-" the older Ritsuka asked.

"The heavens grace us with the blessing of light. The false images are cleared away," Soubi countered.

Lightning flashed, striking the mirrors. Glass shattered.

It was the other pair's turn. "Defend!" shouted Akira, as the glass flew in all directions. The Merciless pair was enclosed in a barrier.

Soubi was left with no choice but to crouch protectively over the two children as glass shards exploded around them. It was a trap, Soubi thought sickeningly. They had known how he would react, and used his own spell against him.

He was supposed to be the one to do that.

Soubi felt no mark on his body, but when he pulled away, he saw that both Ritsukas bore the brunt of the attack. Piece by piece, mark by mark, both Ritsukas were bleeding from cuts.

Both Ritsukas had identical wounds. Deep wounds.

"What's happening?" Whimpered the younger Ritsuka. "It…it hurts…"

"Keep going, Soubi!" the older Ritsuka ordered.

Soubi had to obey. "Glass is crushed like sand. The wind blows, announcing a storm." The glass withered like dust, and it shattered the Merciless pair's defense when it formed a twister made of glass. "Restriction!"

At once, chains appeared. The force of Soubi's attack was such that both Anita's hands and neck were restrained in one go.

"Anita!" Akira shouted.

"Don't mind me," Anita grunted. "He has two Sacrifices. I don't know why, but it's an abomination. Crush them, Akira!"

"Flames are brought to life by the roaring wind. The fire consumes our enemies, leaving only dust!" Akira shouted.

A fire emerged from the folds of the glass storm, leaving the glittering dust behind.

"The rain falls-" Soubi began as the fire raced towards them, but was cut short by a terrified scream.

"NO!" the younger Ritsuka cried out. "F-Fire!"

The younger Ritsuka put his hands over his head, cowering in the orange light. He seemed paralyzed, and still the flames came closer-

"Defend!" Soubi said, putting his whole force behind the spell. "There will be no ashes."

The older Ritsuka was gaping at his younger self. So this little one was scared of fire…and indeed, his younger self was so alarmed that he wasn't looking at the fight anymore, but was trembling with his face hidden.

Akira attacked. "The opened cuts bleed, forming into chains. Restriction!"

"Ah!" gasped the older Ritsuka, falling to his knees. Beside him, the younger Ritsuka's hands and neck were also wrapped in chains.

"Ritsuka, no!" Soubi said, reaching out to his Ritsuka. "Are you all right?"

The younger Ritsuka was still unresponsive after the fire spell, although he must be in pain. The older Ritsuka answered. "I'm fine," Ritsuka said. "We-We'll endure it. Finish it, Soubi, so we can know what Seimei wants!"

The Sentouki straightened. His Master had given an order.

"Yes, Master," Soubi murmured. He removed his glasses, and stowed them into a pocket.

And he turned to the Merciless pair with the coldest glare he could muster. That they made his Sacrifice bleed…

Both of them,

They would pay.

He had been taught to turn the enemy Fighter's attacks against them. "Fire is cleansed to the purest blue. Undeterred by wind or water, the blue flames cast the enemies' world into whiteness."

The fire turned blue, then shot back to the Merciless pair. Two thin shouts pierced the deepening evening.

It was over. So quickly, that Soubi almost regretted it, but he sensed that none of the two Ritsukas would be very pleased if he had given the Merciless pair exactly what he thought they deserved. It would involve too much violence.

The world returned to normal. Color returned. Maybe that's why he painted, Soubi thought irreverently. So that he was reminded that there was a world outside a Fighter Unit-

"Ritsuka!" Soubi said, tenderly embracing his Sacrifice. "Are you all right?"

No, he wasn't. The Sentouki's cold-hearted sense of triumph melted into self-hatred. Soubi should've been punished. Ritsuka-both of them-were bleeding everywhere.

The younger Ritsuka turned to them, tears streaming down his face. "Does it hurt like that every time you fight?"

"Sometimes, yes," Soubi answered softly.

"I d-d-don't like f-fire," the younger Ritsuka said with a shudder. "I h-h-hate it. W-Why d-d-didn't you p-p-p-protect us?"

"Soubi protected us! We never would've won if not for him," the older Ritsuka said hotly.

"No, he's right. Punish me as you wish. I have failed you."

"We need to get that cell phone," the older Ritsuka pointed out, ignoring Soubi's statement.

Soubi retrieved the cell phone and handed it to his Ritsuka. "We need to tend to your wounds." He looked at Chibi and added, "both of you."

/ | \

\ | /

Somehow they managed to get to Soubi's house without attracting too much attention. Kio and the Zero pair weren't there yet.

The younger Ritsuka sat down on a chair and pulled up his knees. The older Ritsuka sat on Soubi's bed.

The Sentouki didn't know who to bandage first. They were both weakening…

"Take care of the older me first," mumbled the younger Ritsuka. His red shirt looked darker, and there were also slashes on his jeans.

"You should-" the older Ritsuka began.

"It's okay," the younger Ritsuka replied, still buried in his knees. "I'm used to it."

The older Ritsuka and the Sentouki exchanged a surprised glance. "What do you mean?"

Chibi's voice was lifeless. "Whenever Seimei and I got hurt together, he made me tend to him first. He hated the sight of his own blood. Once, we were in a skiing vacation, and the trolley car we were riding malfunctioned and bumped into another. We both fell, and we were both injured. Aniki told me to bandage him first. I had a broken wrist then, but I managed to clean him up. It's okay," he repeated, "I'm used to it."

"No one should ever get used to that!" the older Ritsuka yelled. "How did…"

Soubi was stunned as well. Not even in his wildest dreams did he think that the younger Ritsuka was living a life that seemed like his own. The only difference was that at least Seimei returned the younger Ritsuka's devotion.

"But I love Aniki," the younger Ritsuka reasoned. "Why shouldn't he get well first?"

"That-that's not-" the older Ritsuka spluttered. He turned even paler.

"Ritsuka, take off your shirt and jeans. I'm not going to do anything perverted-" Soubi said, catching his Sacrifice's sudden glare, "But we need to get to all your cuts, and bandage them." He then turned to the younger Ritsuka. "Would you be able to wait?"

The younger Ritsuka only nodded.

Soubi worked quickly. Ritsuka- his Ritsuka- was still shocked over Seimei's treatment of his younger self.

"It was wrong," the older Ritsuka said.

"It was not," the younger Ritsuka responded.

"Was too."

"Was not."

It was a childish game, but Soubi made no move to stop it.

"Was too."

The younger Ritsuka jumped up. "Don't say bad words about Aniki! You should know that he loves us!"

The nine-year-old fled, and Soubi heard his bathroom door slam. The kid had shut himself in.

Ritsuka had half-stood, about to follow, but Soubi pushed him back down.

"I need to finish bandaging you, Ritsuka. Then we'll go to him together." Soubi whispered in his ear. "Let me do this, Ritsuka. This is the only thing I can do to make amends. I've failed you as your Fighter."

Ritsuka turned to him with another glare. "Not you too! Don't listen to him. He's a kid, he doesn't know what he's saying."

"Is that an order?"

Slowly, Ritsuka's arms and legs were covered with white bandages. Soubi couldn't even begin to describe his remorse as he covered each cut on his Sacrifice's beautiful body. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Always fight to protect his Sacrifice. That was the fundamental rule.

And he broke it.

He had been trained to take pain. Why couldn't he take away Ritsuka's pain this time?

Why, in the course of the fight with Merciless, was Soubi spared?

And he could not forget the younger Ritsuka's hysterical screams at the sight of the roaring fire, nor his accusation…Soubi personally thought that the younger Ritsuka had the right idea when he said that Soubi didn't protect them.

Ritsuka shook his head. "Don't apologize. You did really well, Soubi."

He didn't deserve this praise. If it was Seimei, he would have been bleeding twice as much as Ritsuka was bleeding right now.

Carefully, he finished bandaging the boy, then helped him put new clothes on. The Zero pair's clothes looked so big on him that it was comical.

"Lie down, Ritsuka. I'll bandage the other one. Get some rest."

"But, Mom…"

"He called your mother and said that you had a sudden overnight activity with your club," the blonde said with a faint smile. "That was before we went up to the mountain. It seems that he's really good at lying."

The other Ritsuka had already called their mother then. But the fact that he was a liar when he was younger…

"Is that supposed to comfort me?" Ritsuka murmured to himself as he watched his Sentouki cross the house to the bathroom.

He could hear Soubi knocking on the bathroom door, pleading softly for the other Ritsuka to open it. Judging by the time that had passed, the younger Ritsuka was still throwing a tantrum.

A liar, and a brat. What a great guy he had been.

Then the older Ritsuka spotted the chair that the younger Ritsuka had been sitting on. It was dark with blood.

And there were bloody footprints that weren't his…

He felt himself go cold. The younger one…had asked Soubi to tend to him first when he was already bleeding this much?

How much time had passed since the younger Ritsuka had locked himself inside?

"Soubi! Do you have a key to your bathroom?" asked the older Ritsuka frantically.

"No. Why-" Soubi began, then spotted the same thing as the current Ritsuka did.

Blood.

"I think he's-"

Ritsuka never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment, Soubi rammed his whole body to the bathroom door. The door shuddered, but didn't give.

Soubi tried again.

And again.

/ | \

\ | /

-earlier-

Chibi ran to the bathroom and locked it. He wanted to be alone. It hurt, both his heart and his body.

He clambered up to Soubi's bath tub. There was no other surface he could sit on.

Once there, he felt his arms and legs turn to lead. His jeans were almost black now. And he was staining the white bath tub scarlet.

The older Ritsuka was so mean. It was normal for the others not to understand Seimei, but weren't he and the older Ritsuka the same? Shouldn't they both love Seimei?

But it looked like the other Ritsuka loved Soubi more than he loved Seimei…

Would he grow up to be like that?

He didn't want to.

"No, no, no," he muttered. He wasn't shaking his head, but his surroundings were spinning and blurry. He raised his arm-tried to- but found that he couldn't.

It was beginning to get very cold in Agatsuma-san's bathroom.

Where was Aniki?

He leaned against the bath tub edge. He was so sleepy…it had been a long day. He was dizzy and tired and his cuts hurt.

"Seimei…"

And it seemed that his prayers were finally being answered, because there was someone calling out his name…but he couldn't tell anymore if it was Seimei or not.

_Seimei, I wish you were here. _

Then everything faded.

/ | \

\ | /

* * *

*Ninth Month Festival- this festival is actually based from the Chinese Festival called Double Nine Festival. It's a loose basis, but yes, they do fly kites at this time. The time of this fic is around the end of September.

** Touji- Seimei and Ritsuka's names are based from the Japanese seasons/agricultural festival 24 Sekki. (look it up) Touji is on December 21, which also happens to be Ritsuka's birthday. It means Winter Solstice. Ritsuka's name is based from Rikka, which means the beginning of summer. That one falls on May 5.

* * *

Cliffhanger! I am evil, right? Right? Forgive me for taking too long to release this. Hopefully the insane length of this chapter (yes, your eyes do not deceive you, they keep on getting longer) will make up for the long wait.

Whoa. I've covered a whole day in the life of the past Ritsuka. Hopefully this clears some matters up (or did i just make you want for more?) People have been wanting to know what Seimei's role is in all this...

And that cell phone, plus the relationship between the past Ritsuka and Seimei...hmmm...

I know that you've been wondering what would happen if Soubi fought with two Ritsukas, so here it is-my answer.

Thank you for those who added me on their story alerts, and on their favorites list. It gives me such a thrill and inspires me a lot. Really.

I've got some time, so here we go: my running commentary for those who reviewed.I love my readers! Kudos to those who give me well-thought out reviews. Makes me feel loved to read such insightful reviews.

Taneya: I can't say too much about the next chapters here, but you'll get to see Seimei soon. I promise. Haha!

Promocat: I get the feeling I should give you something more because you always review each chapter i release... T_T words are not adequate to tell you how i appreciate it.* bows *

Cynthia: Hello! I hope you enjoyed Kio's little scene.

Roman Juliet: I think that the past Ritsuka was ADHD. * sweatdrops * Lol.

Hey, -this goes out to all my readers-you're free to ask me questions, and if you think that there's anything you'd like to see discussed, you can let me know through a review. and yes...i am still without a beta...

*lopes off to drown in choco-chip cookie dough ice cream *


	5. The Rabbit and the Trap

Disclaimer: I'll emphasize more than ever that **I AM NOT YUN KOUGA** since i'm going to put some of her ideas and putting them together for my own sory.

A/N:

Thank you to promocat, cynthia, and YellOwButterfly for reviewing.

I aplologize ahead of time for:

1) taking a long time to post this, and

2) having a short chapter.

On the Plus side, there are hints of the mystery of how the younger Ritsuka got into the present time. and...Seimei has finally arrived! -sort of-

But you don't really want to hear me ramble on, so-

* * *

Mnemosyne five~

A cold autumn dawn was creeping across the country when the younger Ritsuka opened his eyes. That simple act took his breath away, the white-tiled room spinning dizzily, until a soft hand was laid on his.

"Ritsuka."

Although no one had called him by his own, true given birth name since he had woken up into this time, it was not the reason why his eyes instantly filled with tears. It was because he knew that voice, and had been wanting to hear it.

"Nii-chan," the younger Ritsuka said. He turned his head, sending the room spinning again. He closed his eyes, but he still felt dizzy. A tear slipped down his cheek.

Seimei brushed the drop away. "Rit-chan, you've lost a lot of blood. Try not to move so much."

"But I want to see you."

"Then open your eyes. I'm here, everything's alright."

Ritsuka opened is eyes again. There he was, his big brother. Ritsuka stared at him until he was sure he could memorize every detail-those black ears, every curl on Seimei's hair, the darkness of his midnight blue eyes. Then he spoke. "I had a nightmare."

For what else could being lost in the future called?

"A nightmare?" Seimei stood and sat down again on Ritsuka's bed. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I don't want to remember it…" he whispered. "But you were dead then, and suddenly you weren't."

\

\

\

Seimei looked down at his baby brother. Merciless had brought him the news-that Agatsuma Soubi had somehow gained two Sacrifices that looked almost exactly alike. One had been terrified of fire. That had been all he needed to know, before pulling all the strings he had to find out where the past Ritsuka was confined.

He lay down beside Ritsuka, crooning soothing words. Soon the past Ritsuka slept, in his arms, like he used to when they were still very small.

Seimei couldn't stay for long. He kissed his brother's forehead, and whispered, "I won't let the Seven Moons take you away from me ever again…Ritsuka."

/

/

/

_He dreamed that he was in his school. _

_It was dark, at night, and, like in another dream, he held only a candle. _

_He walked past the hallways to his empty classroom. There was someone sitting on his seat. _

"_Aniki?" he called out. _

"_Ritsuka." Seimei smiled at him in the darkness. "Come here."_

_The younger Ritsuka took a step forward, and the world whirled-_

_Suddenly he was in his seat, tied with ropes, the smell of gasoline in the air. _

"_What the-Aniki? Aniki? Seimei?"_

"_It's how it's supposed to be, Ritsuka. This is your fate." Seimei appeared in front of him, holding a candle._

_His candle. _

_Gasoline…_

"_NO! SEIMEI! PLEASE!"_

_Seimei touched the flame to the gasoline-soaked boy, ignoring his screams, the heat, the blaze. The younger Ritsuka screamed, feeling the fire licking at him, wanting to get away, and not understanding WHY Seimei, the person he loved most in the world, was doing this-_

_And why, through the orange tongues, Seimei was there…_

_Smiling. _

/

/

/

Agatsuma Soubi jerked out of his thin sleep when he heard the younger Ritsuka scream. His blue eyes shot open, seeing the boy writing on the bed, thrashing around so much that he was in danger of ripping out his own IV.

Ritsuka's eyes were closed…He was asleep, and having a bad dream.

"Wake up!"

Still, the boy flailed around, driving a small fist into Soubi's chest, kicking every which way. And then, a word that Soubi never thought that he'd hear from this child: "Moooooom!" he wailed. "Mooooom! Help me! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

He had no choice. He had to call him by his name, the one that Soubi only used to associate with another.

"Ritsuka! Ritsuka, wake up! It's me, Soubi!"

He kicked around some more, but eventually settled after Soubi repeated the words a few times. The younger Ritsuka's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he said was, "Seimei burned me."

Soubi's heart curled up inside. "No. Merciless did that. Do you remember?"

The younger Ritsuka looked confused for a few seconds. Then he nodded, looking tired. "Yes. I remember now." The boy closed his eyes-to fight off the dizziness, Soubi guessed, then opened them again. "Where am I?"

"The hospital."

The younger Ritsuka pressed his lips together, fighting to stay calm.

Getting here was a nightmare on its own. For a brief moment there Soubi had thought that the younger Ritsuka had bled to death in his own bathroom. He was white as snow and just about as cold as one when Soubi got the door down.

They had rushed him to the hospital, where the younger Ritsuka was confined under the name of Aoyagi Touji, the current Ritsuka's "little brother".

The younger Ritsuka had several blood transfusions, and it was thanks to the current Ritsuka-who filled out all the forms-that they even knew what blood type he was. The younger Ritsuka's condition turned stable shortly after midnight.

The current Ritsuka was now sleeping in the room opposite. Soubi had just come from a long sleep himself, after requesting the nurses to wake him immediately if the younger Aoyagi awakened.

"Agatsuma san?" the younger Ritsuka said, after a minute of silence.

"Yes?"

Those violet eyes filled with tears again. "I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For accepting the fight." He was crying, his voice tiny with distress. "And for arguing with the other me, and for locking the bathroom. I'm sorry I said you didn't protect us. I'm sorry I brought you to the mountain and I splashed Kio's hair. I'm sorry I played with the big dog and followed you to your college. I'm sorry that…I'm sorry I'm here."

If it was possible that the word guilty could define a person, Soubi was that definition.

Would he blame the younger Ritsuka for being here, being hurt, for putting doubt in his heart about who he must truly love and protect?

He couldn't do it.

Not after seeing this child's tears.

His Ritsuka never cried.

He knew now why, in the last battle, he was not harmed. In a battle, the Fighter always took on some damage, even with the Sacrifice being there. But now that this child was there, to take the damage that was supposed to be Soubi's share. What burden that Soubi wanted to share with the world-what sadness, what pain- both Ritsukas were there to bear it.

And maybe, with two of them, they could be equal to that weight.

Soubi put out a hand and stroked the younger Ritsuka's head, in the space between his cat ears. There was just enough room for Soubi's large hand to pass through and move a little. The kid was still weeping. "Call me Soubi," he said.

\

\

\

The younger Ritsuka's breaths hitched, "S-S-Soubi-san."

"Yes?"

Tiny arms embraced his whole arm. "T-Thank you for b-b-bringing me here."

"There's nothing to thank me for."

"Because you don't want us to get hurt?"

Goodness, why did his teachers say that his grades were low if the younger Ritsuka was this bright?

"Yes, exactly." Soubi smiled a little.

"Soubi-san?" the younger Ritsuka said again, after he stopped crying.

"Yes?"

"I'm hungry."

Focus. Yep, that was what the younger Ritsuka lacked.

/

/

/

The next day, Ritsuka sat in Katsuko-sensei's office. The younger Ritsuka still wasn't released, but he'd insisted that he was fine with Youji and Natsuo as his baby-sitters. Not altogether reassured, Soubi promised both Ritsukas that he'd fetch the present-day Ritsuka from school after classes ended and then visit the younger Ritsuka.

But the current Ritsuka said no, he had somewhere to go to on Thursday and that Soubi could go right ahead.

His appointment was supposed to be yesterday, but since he'd missed most of school dealing with his younger self's injuries, he rescheduled.

"How are you today, Ritsuka?" Katsuko-sensei began with a warm smile.

Ritsuka sat on the couch, his knees folded to his chest. How would he begin?

_Waking up to the past Ritsuka…_

_Throwing him out to the park…_

_Introducing him to Soubi…_

_The butterflies_

_Feeling so scared and sad and insecure, all the time-_

_Seeing the younger Ritsuka-_

_Comparing, always, comparing-_

_Their mother, and the younger Ritsuka-_

_His classmates and his past self-_

_Soubi. _

Ritsuka breathed in evenly. Soubi. Soubi assured him that he was his.

_But was he really? _

How he hated this doubt. Were the heavens listening when he asked for his memory back, or was this someone's idea of a joke?

_The mountain_

_The sunset_

_The pictures_

_The Fighters_

_Merciless_

_The fight_

_Spellwords_

_Battle_

_Fire_

_Fear_

_Chains_

_Pain_

_Blood _

_Cellphone, that still hasn't rung_

_No numbers on the contacts, so they couldn't know_

The cell phone they had fought for, and that nearly cost the younger Ritsuka his life, burned in the current Ritsuka's mind like a tattoo. It hadn't rung, and the current Ritsuka quite frankly didn't know whether he wanted it to.

"I think my memory's back," he told Katsuko-sensei now.

\

\

\

"That's good, isn't it?" Katsuko-sensei suggested. It was good-it was what Ritsuka wanted. She'd miss him terribly, of course, as a patient and as a friend, but there would be no point of continuing the sessions if Ritsuka has had his memory back.

Still, Ritsuka didn't seem happy.

"Ritsuka? What's wrong?"

After a long moment, he answered. "I think that, sometimes, getting what you want is worse."

\

\

\

"Soubi! I'm bored!" the younger Ritsuka said imperiously as soon as he walked in his room.

"You're looking better," Soubi commented.

The younger Ritsuka was still pale, but he moved a lot more now, like he did with his usual energy.

"I want to go home!"

"You can't, stupid," Youji said, from where he and Natsuo were playing their PSPs.

"Soubi! They wouldn't even let me out of this room. I want to go home!"

"I can't do that, Ritsuka, you need to rest."

"I slept the whole day yesterday, and I'm resting and everything. I heard the nurse say that I can be released tonight!"

"Which nurse?" Soubi asked, startled.

"The one with the black hair."

"Most Japanese have black hair. If your **doctor** says so, then we'll take you out. Till then…"

The younger Ritsuka laid back on his bed. "Well, I tried," he said dejectedly.

It had been almost exactly twenty-four hours since their fight with Merciless. Soubi supposed that he should be grateful that the younger Ritsuka stayed still for this long.

"Listen, I'll look for your doctor and ask if you really could be released tonight."

The younger Ritsuka sat up so quickly that Soubi believed for a second that he could get him released tonight. "Really?"

"Yes. Wait here." Soubi rose to leave.

"Take me a book from the hospital bookstore," the younger Ritsuka called out.

"What book do you want?"

"Anything."

/

/

/

The doctor confirmed that "Aoyagi Touji" could be released tonight.

When he returned, Soubi had a book in his hands. He didn't know what it was about; there hadn't been time for reading fairy stories in his childhood.

Ritsuka, if this past Ritsuka was to be believed, had been happy in his childhood…

The Zero boys were gone. They had grown bored because they couldn't play with the younger Ritsuka as energetically as they had for the past few days. Soubi and the younger Ritsuka were alone, waiting for the current Ritsuka.

"_The Velveteen Rabbit_," The younger Ritsuka read from the front cover. "I think that's for six year olds, Soubi."

"I'm sorry."

"I already read this…"

"Would you like me to get another, then?"

"Soubi…" the younger Ritsuka said, "Do you know what the story is about?"

"No."

"No? Really?"

"Really."

"Well then." The younger Ritsuka said. "_I'll _read it to you."

\

\

\

Ritsuka watched his Fighter and his younger self talk.

The younger Ritsuka was like a sun, warming everyone with his smiles and cheerfulness and noise. Ritsuka was beginning to think-that maybe, it was better if it was the younger Ritsuka was the one with Soubi. At least Soubi could learn to smile more often.

For Ritsuka could see it now-why his mother was driven mad by his amnesia. The current Ritsuka was like a forgotten star, with a spark of the old Ritsuka, the real Ritsuka, but overall so distant and different that anyone would be stunned .

He had arrived a few minutes earlier, just in time to hear the beginning of the story. The younger Ritsuka was taking his storytelling role very seriously, for he had an audience.

"…_and the Velveteen Rabbit asked the Skin Horse, "What is REAL? Does that mean that you have little machines at your back and wind-up keys?" _

"_But the Skin Horse, who was wise and old, said no. "Being real does not mean being new. By the time you are REAL, your fur would be gray, and your ears would be worn down by much love. Your eyes would probably be loose in their places, but you will be REAL because you are loved.""_

There was a pause. The younger Ritsuka stared down at the book, fingering the page.

"Why don't you continue, Ritsuka?" Soubi said, who had been listening attentively.

"Ritsuka?" the younger Ritsuka asked the older Ritsuka.

"Yes?"

"Am _**I**_ real?"

\

\

\

For a full five minutes, there was silence.

"Because…I'm Loveless, right? Everyone says so. I'm Loveless, so I can't be REAL."

"Ritsuka, you're not the Velveteen Rabbit," Soubi said gently.

"But I'm Loveless."

"No, we're not," Ritsuka said. "I've always hated that name. Our name is Aoyagi Ritsuka! Not Loveless!"

The past Ritsuka gave him a shaky smile. "You know, that's the first time you called me by name."

The current Ritsuka blushed with embarrassment and opened his mouth to answer when a cell phone rang.

"What's that?"

But Soubi already knew. He reached over and took the phone they fought for, the phone in the current Ritsuka's jacket pocket. It hadn't rung since they took it from Merciless.

It was ringing now.

"Is it Aniki?" asked the younger Ritsuka.

It was still ringing. The current Ritsuka counted sixteen rings. Slowly, he took the phone from his Sentouki.

"We'll never find out if we don't answer." The younger Ritsuka piped up.

With that, the current Ritsuka pressed the answer button.

"Hello, Ritsuka."

"Seimei," he breathed.

It was Seimei.

It was.

He called him. Called Ritsuka.

It was real, he wasn't dead, he was-

Who was Seimei? Did he know?

Did he _ever_ know?

"I'm glad to hear you sound so well. And that you haven't given the phone to anyone else. It was meant for you, you know."

"What…"

"Ritsuka, I've talked to Ritsu. Come tomorrow at the Seven Moons Academy, and he'll tell you what he knows."

"What he knows? At the Seven Moons? What does he know, Aniki?"

"Don't ask too many questions, Ritsu will be the one to answer them. Bring Soubi and the other you. It's important. I love you, Ritsuka."

"Wait, Sei-!"

The phone went dead. Hands shaking, the current Ritsuka faced the other two.

Soubi and the past Ritsuka looked concerned. "What did…he say, Ritsuka?" Soubi asked. He couldn't say Seimei's name.

Angry, Ritsuka flipped the phone shut. "We're going to the Seven Moons Academy."

\

\

\

* * *

"Soubi?"

The Sentouki's mind had wandered. "Yes?"

"Tell me about the Seven Moons Academy."

Both the younger Ritsuka and Soubi were in Ritsuka's room. A few hours ago, "Touji" had been released. The younger Ritsuka had insisted on reading Seimei's message on the computer, although his Ritsuka could recite them word for word.

They had snuck into the house pretty much the same way as the first time around.

Now, what was Chibi saying?

"I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"Seimei ordered me not to."

Unlike his Ritsuka, the younger Ritsuka nodded seriously. "If Aniki says it, it's a good idea to follow it."

He was reading The Velveteen Rabbit again. After he had flicked a few pages idly, he asked , "Seimei…Aniki, did he turn bad? "

"What makes you say that?" Soubi asked, taken aback.

Before the younger Ritsuka could answer, a crash broke the silence of the house. Soubi, knowing the sound for what it was, only turned away from the noise, pretending he didn't hear.

However, the younger Ritsuka sat up straighter, his cat ears perked. "What's that?"

"It's nothing." Soubi had not been ordered not to tell this child what would happen in his future, but he did not need the older Ritsuka to say the words. Soubi sensed that, if the younger Ritsuka knew, some of the remaining light in his eyes would go out. It had already been dimmed enough simply by him being here.

Soubi did not want to take away Ritsuka's joy.

Not the past Ritsuka's, nor his Ritsuka's.

Even if it meant that, it was Soubi who was unhappy, who wished fervently that if his Ritsuka was not willing to stop the abuse, he would at least let Soubi love him.

"_Who are you? Why have you come back? You're not my Ritsuka! My Ritsuka would not skip school! Bring me back my Ritsuka!_"

So loud, and so clear. There was a series of thumps, and before the blond man could stop the boy, the younger Ritsuka had shot out of the room.

/

/

/

"Mom?"

It was a strange scene: the younger Ritsuka was standing the kitchen doorway with his mouth open, watching their mother land hits on the older Ritsuka.

And, the other him? He wasn't fighting back. At all.

"Ritsuka?" Misaki said, wonder in her voice.

"What are you doing?" wheezed the older Ritsuka, startled. His voice sounded funny. Like he wasn't getting enough air. "I told you to stay away!"

"What's happening?" the younger Ritsuka asked. "Mom, why are you hitting him?"

"It's my Ritsuka," MIsaki announced. She abandoned the older Ritsuka and headed straight for the younger Ritsuka. "Oh, Ritsuka, you're back. I knew you'd be back."

Behind him, the younger Ritsuka saw the older Ritsuka's eyes widen with shock and the sense of betrayal.

"Mom, you're…" the younger Ritsuka trailed off. She was still coming straight for him, and he suddenly felt cornered. "Don't come closer!" he cried out, holding his arms up to shield himself.

After all, if she hurt the other Ritsuka, who can say that she wouldn't hurt him?

Their mom stopped. Amazingly. "Ritsuka, I'm not going to hurt you," she said.

As if he could believe that. "You just did."

"No! He-He's an impostor! He's not you!"

"Mom," he interrupted, "He _**is**_ me. Please don't hurt him anymore. Please?"

"Ritsuka, just let me hold you-"

"No! Promise me you won't hurt him-me- again."

Misaki looked at the older Ritsuka behind her. Her eyes were filling with tears. "I try, I try so hard, but I can't stop myself, I love you, but I hurt you too."

Their mother loved him. He knew that, but if she loved him, why was she hurting his older self?

It was too much like the dream he had with Seimei, where Seimei had burned him. The younger Ritsuka knew without a shadow of a doubt that his big brother loved him, but why wasn't Seimei here, and explaining things to him?

Instead, he left him.

"Mom, you just need to promise me."

Soubi was in the room, just behind him, hidden in the doorway.

"I promise," Misaki whispered.

Soubi began to whisper the words to a spell to make their mother sleep. As she crumpled to the floor, it was the older Ritsuka who ran forward to take her.

Their eyes met, past self and future self.

It was a defeat for both of them: one, still a child, afraid of the future he would live, another, the pre-teen, broken by the simple fact that their mother would listen only to the past.

\

\

\

"Are you all right?" Soubi asked them. They were both silent, and the expressions on their faces were too similar to be even called funny. "Were you hurt?"

His Ritsuka hadn't even scolded him for letting the younger Ritsuka escape. He hadn't been angry at him using a word spell against their mother. This silent treatment could drive Soubi crazy.

"I'm not hurt." His Ritsuka said. His voice had returned to normal.

"Why is Mom like that?" the younger Ritsuka asked. "She…She…" and now he turned to the older Ritsuka. "You didn't tell her to stop! She was hurting you! Are you stupid or just a wimp?"

The older Ritsuka stared. Never once had he actually _asked_ his mother to stop. "I don't know."

The younger Ritsuka was throwing another tantrum. "You're both, then!" He picked up his book and threw it at the older Ritsuka.

He shut his eyes to take the blow. But it never came.

"Stop it." Soubi's voice was ice. The book was in his hands. "You will not hurt him."

But the younger Ritsuka didn't hear the warning in the adult's voice. "You can't tell me what to do! You didn't stop her, either!"

The words were as sharp as and attack in a Spell Battle. Had the younger Ritsuka stabbed him in the chest, it couldn't have hurt more than this. Soubi flinched.

And as his Sacrifice saw his pain, he defended him. "Because I ordered him not to!" the older Ritsuka said, finally finding his will to fight.

"Why?"

"Because she's our mother!" the older Ritsuka roared.

The younger Ritsuka blanched. The older Ritsuka bit his lip.

Both were right, and both were wrong.

/

/

/

A chastised nine-year old Ritsuka was a sight to see. He did know how to shut up.

"So…Aniki left Soubi to us?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

The older Ritsuka blinked. "I think it was to protect us from the Seven Moons."

"But Soubi-san can't tell us anything about the Seven Moons?"

"Because Seimei ordered me to," Soubi said.

The younger Ritsuka groaned. "I'm getting really tired of that word."

"So am I," muttered the older Ritsuka.

"I'm sorry," Said Soubi.

"No you're not!" the two Ritsukas said together. Soubi almost smiled.

"If Seimei told Soubi to protect us from the Seven Moons, why did he tell us to go there?"

"He didn't say that Soubi had to protect us from the Seven Moons," the older Ritsuka corrected. "Aniki said that he would become our Fighter, and that's all."

"And how is that different?"

"It means," Soubi said gravely, "That I am to protect you. No matter if the enemy is the Seven Moons of Seimei himself."

/

/

/

They set out early the next day.

The older Ritsuka didn't want Kio to be the one driving, but Kio had insisted. Kio had said that it wasn't about them, that he had some personal issues with the Aoyagi Seimei himself.

"But you wouldn't be able to come up the school anyway, Kio," the current Ritsuka warned.

Kio exhaled a cloud of smoke. "That's fine. I've got a feeling I'll meet someone from his end today."

"Who?" Soubi asked.

Kio smirked. "Sou-chan, you're not the only one with secrets."

Soubi had never asked what Kio had endured during his short captivity at Seimei's hands, but he was sure that it had been something big.

He must have met with someone he knew. If he had been kidnapped by total strangers, Kio would have been restored to his normal self in a few days.

Instead, the tattooed artist had been, at turns, more thoughtful and prone to periods of silence.

Soubi supposed that he should be grateful that the Zero boys had gone ahead to explain the younger Ritsuka to Minami Ritsu and the Seven Moons Academy. At least, they weren't in the car with them, stretching Kio's patience.

"Hey. Ritsuka, shouldn't you tell your annoying brat of a brother to get a move on?" Kio asked. The younger Ritsuka was still eating breakfast at the fast food they's picked out. Everyone else had finished.

Kio believed that he was Ritsuka's little brother. That was how the younger Ritsuka had been introduced to him, all that Kio knew him as. It took some time to convince him that "Touji" was Ritsuka's younger brother, but in the end, Kio had to accept the logical explanation. THere was no way that he would believe the real story anyway.

"Don't call me a brat!" the younger Ritsuka said, stomping on Kio's foot.

Kio hopped up and down, clutching his sneaker. "You little monster!"

"And I'm not a monster either!" the younger Ritsuka said as he crushed Kio's _other_ foot. Kio fell over.

Soubi sighed, while Ritsuka put his hand to his head.

It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

That's it for the fifth installment. Review? It's the holidays...please? ^^ I'll be good. Tell me what you think, what you want.

hibi Ritsuka was being supremely annoying to Kio, I can't help but be amused. And more of the family interaction, which I've been meaning to do.

The observant reader might ask why the younger Ritsuka did not tell the others about Seimei. The simple reason is because he thought Seimei was a dream. And after the nightmare that followed, he forgot. (can't blame him, really...)

Happy holidays. I wanted you guys to have a chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, though it's short.


	6. Truth

**Disclaimer: I'm not Yun Kouga...still, more theories about her manga. **

A/N: Happy New Year's!

**Oh, and if you haven't read the previous chapter in its entirety, please do so. I revised it a day after i first released it.**

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It does explain much. Thank you for those who reviewed-

_Promocat: here's the chapter that explains how it all goes together!_

_Cynthia: more of the little Ritsuka's personality up ahead. enjoy!_

_Roman Juliet: you get a hot cup of cocoa for being the one to give the longest review of the last chapter. with extra marshmallows!_

On with the ficcy.

* * *

Mnemosyne 6~

Car arrangements were: Kio in the driver's seat, Soubi in the passenger seat, and the Aoyagis at the back seat. The younger Ritsuka-Touji to Kio-had wanted to sit in the front seat, but Kio refused.

Kio still remembered that argument.

"_Why can't I sit there?"_

"_Because I said so."_

"_That doesn't make sense. You just want me out of the way, don't you?"_

_Kio turned red. Put that way, he felt like a criminal, especially because it was true. "Listen, pipsqueak, you're not riding in the front seat and that's final."_

"_Kio-" The older Ritsuka tried to cut in. _

"_Don't call me kid, monster, annoying, or pipsqueak!" raged the younger Ritsuka, stomping his foot in a temper. "I have a name! It's-"_

_But this was where the child suddenly remembered the other Ritsuka and Soubi, watching them fight. Behind Kio, Soubi shook his head very slightly, a warning that they should not tell Kio who he really was. He stopped dead._

"_Yes?" Kio prompted. _

"_I-" the younger Ritsuka said brokenly. Was he not even allowed to use his proper name?_

"_I-" the younger Ritsuka tried again. Now it was the older Ritsuka's eyes which were on him, but there was no expression in them._

_The younger Ritsuka gave up. "Forget it," he mumbled. "You win, I'm sitting in the back seat with…Ritsuka."_

_Kio watched the child clamber up into the front seat. Ritsuka looked sad as he climbed after the boy that Kio thought was Ritsuka's brother._

"_What did I say?" Kio asked Soubi. _

"_It's nothing, Kio," Soubi assured him, but there was no warmth in his words. _

_And Kio knew that there was infinitely more to Aoyagi Touji than either Soubi or Ritsuka had told him. _

_\_

_\_

_\_

"Where did he pop up from, anyway?" Kio asked Soubi. He glanced at the back seat, where the two kids were sleeping, leaning against each other.

"He's lived with their father. He came over this Monday so that he could spend some time with Ritsuka."

"Soubi," his only friend inquired gently, "Are you going to serve that bratty kid as well?"

A most peculiar expression crossed Soubi's face. It was as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I think I will," Soubi muttered, looking out the window.

Kio bit his lip. It was wrong enough that Soubi was serving the two Aoyagi brothers, and now this?

Kio thought that it was several times better that Soubi was with Ritsuka, as opposed to the sadistic Seimei, for he knew that Ritsuka would never hurt Soubi. Touji, however-he was different. Again. The youngest Aoyagi was a spoiled brat.

Still, he had to admit that Touj was, for all his bratty ways, only a kid. A hyperactive, annoying, noisy-

"Kio," Soubi said, reading his expression, "Don't let him upset you too much. You're descending to his level, and we're supposed to be the adults here."

* * *

The two Ritsukas slept, leaning against each other, unaware that they were having exactly, but exactly, the same dream.

/

_It was night. Ritsuka's head was still aching slightly from the long division problems that he had solved earlier. He twitched in his sleep, about to open his eyes, but then he heard his brother's voice. _

"_If you woke Ritsuka, I'll punish you, Soubi."_

"_I'm sorry."_

_Ritsuka felt a hand on his head-his brother's. It soothed him, and now he realized what had woken him up-the sliding door to Seimei's room was open. A cold wind was blowing. _

_He sneezed, and Seimei tucked him with a warm blanket. Ritsuka snuggled closer to the warm cotton sheets. _

_It was December, and it would be his tenth birthday a week from now. _

_He was almost asleep when he heard Seimei speak again. "That pair…they're waiting in the park now, aren't they?"_

"_Yes."_

_Who was that? There was another person in Seimei's room. His name was-what was it again?_

"_We should give them a proper answer to their challenge." Seimei said. _

_Ritsuka felt him pat his head one last time. He felt a thrill of foreboding-_

_**-Don't go, Seimei-nii-**_

_But he was too warm and snuggly and sleepy to protest. _

_\_

_When he woke again, it was raining. Seimei was gone, with his friend, Ritsuka assumed. _

_But did Aniki bring his umbrella? It wasn't raining when he left._

_Ritsuka got up, worried. He snooped into Seimei's cabinet, where he knew Seimei kept the umbrella that Ritsuka had given him for his birthday earlier that year. _

_It was still there. He didn't bring it, and what if Aniki caught a cold because of it?_

_Ritsuka rushed back into his room and hastily dressed over his PJ's. A pair of jeans, a jacket, shoes. He snuck out of the house. _

_It was almost midnight._

_Ritsuka remembered that Seimei was meeting someone in the park so he headed there. The dark blue umbrella with the silver stars embroidered into a segment bobbed in the gray landscape. _

_Almost there…_

_Was that his brother's voice?_

"_Tell me. Is there no Fighter Unit who thinks that the Fighter System is too forceful? We should be able to choose who we bond with. It shouldn't be something determined by birth."_

_It was his brother's voice, but it sounded…odd. So cruelly amused._

_There was a grunt of pain. Ritsuka froze in his tracks. _

"_You blaspheme."_

_It was a man speaking this time, an unfamiliar one._

"_We would not allow you to destroy that bond."_

_Another unfamiliar voice, this time, a woman's. _

"_We are Divided. We would show you the real meaning of being separated."_

"_Aniki?" he whispered. The words he was hearing sounded different, they made his heart and his head throb. _

"_We divide you from the thing you value most!"_

"_Defend. Your attack has no effect."_

_Ritsuka has heard THAT voice before-in Seimei's rooms, earlier this night. _

_Then there was a flash of light, and Ritsuka knew no more._

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Kio nearly jumped out of his skin. Touji was staring at him in the mirror. He didn't look as if he just woke up, though Ritsuka was still asleep.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes. So, are we there yet?"

"No, and we won't be there for a couple of hours more." Kio snapped.

"Meanie." Muttered the younger Ritsuka. "Ne, Soubi-san, aren't those healed yet?"

"What's not healed?" Soubi asked, though he thought he knew.

"Those bandages around your neck, of course," the younger Ritsuka replied. "Look, look. Mine are healed already. Why aren't yours?"

He was referring; of course, to the cuts he had from the fight with Merciless. The younger Ritsuka was completely bandage-free now.

But he couldn't understand why Soubi still had bandages-he's had them since they first met, five days ago.

"Ne, did they really hurt?" the younger Ritsuka continued curiously.

Soubi's cerulean eyes stared off into invisible distances. His Ritsuka knew why he had the bandages, Kio also knew it, but this child didn't.

_Protect the younger Ritsuka as you would protect me…_

"Ne, Soubi-san?"

"Yes." Soubi whispered. "Yes, they did hurt."

The letters, Beloved, were not bleeding. Not physically, anyway. But the pain Seimei had carved into him, twisting him until he could barely recognize what Seimei truly was-that would was still fresh.

At their first visit to the Seven Moons, Seimei demonstrated how easily he could still command Soubi. If Seimei gave an order that would harm Ritsuka (_please, God, no_), Soubi would be compelled to obey it, for that was how he was trained. No matter if Soubi was against it. He could finally admit it: he was Seimei's slave.

He hated himself for obeying, hated, hated, until he was also being warped-

What of Ritsuka, then, who had captivated him in a different way?

Ritsuka took the broken pieces of his personality and was mending them together again. With him Soubi could laugh, could cry, could smile and begin to like himself. Ritsuka saved him when he was backed into a corner, and the very least he could do was to protect him.

Soubi was afraid. Soubi was afraid and he was a slave and he would put his Ritsuka in danger. If it wasn't for Ritska's explicit orders he would not be here, riding straight into the Seven Moons. Like Kio, he felt that something would happen.

"Still? Until now, it hurts?" the younger Ritsuka's voice brought him back.

Even then, even now, it was Ritsuka who brought him back from the dark thought of Seimei.

At this, Soubi managed to tell the truth.

"Not too much, anymore."

* * *

When the older Ritsuka woke up, the younger Ritsuka was bored. Kio begged Ritsuka to shut his "brother" up. So far the younger Ritsuka was playing with the power windows and with the bag of chupa-chups that Kio kept hidden away in the glove apartment. He had also twiddled the dial of the car air con unit, the lights, and the radio station to play hard metal.

"Because you don't want to play with me!" the younger Ritsuka whined.

"What did you want to play?" the older Ritsuka asked.

"Twenty!"

"What's that?"

"Aniki taught it to me! We tell each other ten somethings about ourselves. Something that the other doesn't know. If you lie, you lose. If you react to what the other said, you lose."

It sounded simple enough. "How do you know if I'm lying?" the older Ritsuka wondered.

The younger Ritsuka rolled his eyes. "Don't you think _I'd_ know?" He leant close and whispered, "We are the same, after all."

Ritsuka stared deeply into those violet eyes that were like his and yet not like his. It was the first time that he had looked into his past self's eyes directly since he woke up.

Was it only this Monday?

"All right," Ritsuka gave in.

"Yay! Winner gets to pick where we stop for lunch."

"What if we get to twenty and there still isn't a winner?"

"Oh trust me," the younger Ritsuka said, "Nobody can tell the truth ten times."

\

\

\

Kio listened to the children's game, half amused. Touji went first.

"My favorite toys are planes."

Well, that was easy enough to guess, since the younger Ritsuka loved the dragonfly kite they made for the Ninth Month Festival.

"I don't belong to any clubs." The older Ritsuka told him.

The younger Ritsuka opened his moth, then shut it. He just remembered the other rule-that he mustn't react to whatever the other Ritsuka had said, or he would lose.

It was a game that Seimei invented so that they could tell each other the most outrageous truths. A strange game, but the younger Ritsuka loved it.

"Uhm…I want to be three things when I grow up."

The older Ritsuka caught himself just in time to stop himself from asking his younger self what were those three things. And from the grin of the younger Ritsuka's face, he had been waiting for him to make a mistake.

"I've read Paradiso."

Para-what? The younger Ritsuka pressed his lips together. "I want to be a wildlife photographer, a doctor, or a surfer when I'm older."

A surfer? The older Ritusuka almost laughed, but that would be reacting.

"I think that carrot flavored ice cream would be weird."

The younger Ritsuka winced inside. Eeew. Carrot flavored ice cream. Outside, he kept a poker face. "My worst subject is Math."

That was too easy. "I don't know how to ice-skate."

I do! The younger Ritsuka almost shouted. But no, he mustn't. "I'm better at videogames than Aniki."

That surprised Ritsuka, but all he said was, "I'd like an Ipod for my next birthday."

"I'll travel the world one day."

Which was distinctly unfair, because how would they even know if it would become the truth? But the younger Ritsuka's eyes were wistful, and hopeful, and he obviously meant to make it come true, so the older Ritsuka let it go.

"I'm jealous of you."

The older Ritsuka had meant it as a reaction, but it came out as the truth.

"So am I," the younger Ritsuka told him. "I'm jealous of you."

It should've been a reaction, but, it was the truth, too. The game shifted-became more serious. Everyone in the car could feel it.

"I hate it when people lie to protect me." his Ritsuka said.

"Adults usually don't like me." The younger Ritsuka countered.

Double ouch, Soubi thought.

"I can't sleep at night."

"I'm really good a sneaking up to people and surprising them."

"Soubi has kissed me."

"Yuck!" exclaimed chibi Ritsuka, wrinkling his nose. Then he realized what he just did. "Oops…"

"You lose," the older Ritsuka said with a smile.

"It was unfair!" wailed the younger Ritsuka. He glared at the back of Soubi's seat."Urgh."

Kio was also throwing a fit. "Sou-chan! I knew you were a pervert! This just proves it!"

"I'm not a pervert, Kio."

"A pedophile, then!"

"Kio-"

"He's twelve years old, Soubi, so help me-"

"He surprised me," the older Ritsuka explained to Kio and the younger Ritsuka, who was on the verge of turning green.

The younger Ritsuka grimaced, but he nodded reluctantly. "All right then. I'd be mad if it was any other way, I guess."

"Why?" Soubi asked mildly.

"Because, I haven't had my first-" he broke off, blushing.

The older Ritsuka turned red as well. So Soubi really was their first kiss.

* * *

"We're here."

Two words, but they sent a shiver through the younger Ritsuka's body. So this was the Seven Moons Academy-right smack in the middle of nowhere. There was a small house, which the older Ritsuka was only the waiting area.

They were on a mountain. The younger Ritsuka didn't know where, geography wasn't one of his strong subjects.

Soubi was talking to a nice-looking lady, who nodded when they began to explain about him. They already knew because Youji and Natsuo sent word ahead.

Still, the younger Ritsuka didn't like the look on the lady's face when she looked at him. Like she was scared and fascinated at the same time. He felt like he was a new species of bug under a microscope.

"You're not coming with us?" he asked Kio.

"No."

"Oh." Ritsuka stammered. "Be careful. Nii-chan said that you were kidnapped last time."

Kio stared at him for a long moment. Finally he sighed.

"Actually, you're not so bad." He conceded. "I'll be fine. Go on, kiddo."

The younger Ritsuka waved goodbye as they went through the door. Though it was abroad daylight, and there was the other Ritsuka and Soubi with him, he felt lonely.

Because, it hurt, he sensed that he didn't belong here. The older Ritsuka wasn't holding onto Soubi's hand-he was too old for that-but there was still something in the way that they stood together that excluded him.

Thankfully, there were two people waiting for them in the lobby.

"Youji! Natsuo!" the younger Ritsuka said happily, seeing the Zero pair just inside the door.

"Yo, Chibi." Youji said with a nod. "We're here to take you to Ritsu-sensei."

"Last time it was Midori and Ai," the older Ritsuka mused.

"Ritsu-sensei's trying to keep Chibi a secret," Natsuo explained. "So he won't let anyone who knew you see him."

"Why am I a secret?" the younger Ritsuka wanted to know.

"Because you're not supposed to be here, silly." Youji scolded. "The security's been raised since your bro broke in, but we're not taking chances."

"Why? Seimei wouldn't hurt any of you." The younger Ritsuka pointed out.

Youji and Natsuo exchanged a glance. "I think you'll change your mind once you see Ritsu-sensei."

* * *

The older Ritsuka watched his younger self absorb the information. It was quickly becoming a hobby to watch his younger self-because he wanted to be him, the real Ritsuka.

But did he really want to be? It was quickly becoming apparent that if he would try to become like the past Ritsuka, he would lose something of himself.

How can he come from this child? From a tragedy?

How did he lose him?

His memory?

/

The younger Ritsuka's head snapped around, trying to memorize all details of the Seven Moons Academy. He was talking animatedly to Youji and Natsuo, asking about Nagisa-sensei.

"So she's like a mad scientist?"

"I wouldn't call her mad, exactly," Natsuo said.

A hand was placed on the older Ritsuka's shoulder. He looked up to see Soubi looking down at him.

"I love you, Ritsuka," the Sentouki said gently.

Ritsuka let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding. And on top of it all, here was Soubi, making him feel -

Lost,

Confused,

And most of all,

Blessed sweet relief.

Soubi had said those words less and less now. Ritsuka actually suspected that Soubi was the kind of person who kept his feelings bottled up-the real ones, not the ones someone would order him to feel.

It was in the way he lied. Katsuko-sensei was right. Soubi had been lying to protect him, when he was wounded, when his feelings were hurt, when Seimei first appeared.

But when the words were not adequate to express how he felt, Soubi was reduced to a few words:

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Yes, Master."_

"_Thank you."_

"_No."_

"_I betrayed you."_

"_Please."_

This time, however, Soubi got it right. What he felt-and what the older Ritsuka wanted to hear-

Soubi said it when he said, "I love you."

"Stupid," Ritsuka said, to cover up his relief. "Don't say such stupid things. We need to be alert for what Ritsu-sensei will tell us."

"Of course, Ritsuka."

His Fighter doesn't say it again, but he doesn't need to-for Soubi is holding his hand, and it's a comfort that only the current Ritsuka is privileged to have.

\

There was a problem: the younger Ritsuka stubbornly refused to step inside Ritsu-sensei's office.

"Why?" Youji asked Chibi. Minami Ritsu was sitting in his office, only twenty feet away, but Chibi has his arms crossed and he looked like he wanted to throw a tantrum again.

"Because! He traps butterflies!" cried the younger Ritsuka, very upset.

The older Ritsuka had forgotten about that. This child caught butterflies, too, but he always let them go. But Ritsu-sensei's office was filled with butterflies trapped with pins, trapped under glass. Wall after wall after wall.

"I don't want to look at all of them. They're dead," wailed the younger Ritsuka.

"So is that the past Ritsuka?" Ritsu said, equally stubborn. "What a stupid child. If you don't want to see them, just close your eyes."

"I can't do that!"

"Yes you can."

"No, I can't!"

Ritsu stood up and walked to them, still standing in the doorway of his office. The older Ritsuka marveled at how steady he was-it was almost impossible to tell that he was blind and helpless a month ago. Ritsu-sensei wore dark glasses now, but, in the sunlight, one could believe that they were ordinary shades for a normal person.

The teacher was heading straight for the younger Ritsuka. Ritsu bent down so that he was at the younger Ritsuka's eye level. He reached up and removed his glasses.

The younger Ritsuka flinched when he saw the milky blankness of Ritsu's eyes. "You're…"

"Blind. Yes."

"But…how?" The younger Ritsuka reached out, touching a tiny scar by the side of Ritsu's eyes.

Ritsu jumped, not expecting the fingers so gently probing his wound. "It was your brother who did this to me. Now, do you want the truth, or will you keep on acting like the spoiled brat that I know you are?"

The younger Ritsuka's lower lip trembled. Finally he said, "Okay."

\

"Did Seimei call you?" the older Ritsuka asked the principal of the Seven Moons. "Is that how you knew you were expecting us?"

"Yes. I was surprised to hear from him, but, Ritsuka, I would warn you first. All the information that you're about to hear is something that Soubi already knows."

The younger Ritsuka was looking at the floor, not looking at Ritsu's wall decorations.

"What do you mean? I know Soubi knows about you, and the Seven Moons, but he was ordered not to tell me by Seimei."

Ritsu turned to the sound of the older Ritsuka's voice. How could a blind man's gaze still be so penetrating?

"I know that, Ritsuka. But this time, it's not about Seimei's faked murder. It's about you, Ritsuka. Seimei has asked me to tell you what I know of the event that radically changed your personality…two years ago."

At that, both Ritsukas gasped. "What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

Was the reason he had amnesia…

Was the reason why the younger Ritsuka was here in the first place…

Was that because of the Seven Moons?

Ritsu chose his words carefully. Like Ritsuka, he had no intention of letting the younger Ritsuka know of the events that will happen in his future. "I mean what you think I mean. The only reason why I'm telling you this is because Seimei has threatened to tell you the truth himself. If that happens…" Ritsu sighed. "Who knows what will happen? Think carefully, Ritsuka. Would you forgive Soubi if you knew that he had known of the reason and didn't tell you?"

* * *

The younger Ritsuka was very confused. Everyone was speaking in riddles.

"Just tell us!" he demanded. "What happened two years ago?"

But everyone was waiting for the older Ritsuka's answer! It was as if his opinion-the younger Ritsuka's opinion-didn't matter AT ALL.

Impatient, he gave a snort, but the older Ritsuka was staring at Soubi, looking stunned.

* * *

"You knew?" the older Ritsuka whispered. He felt like he'd been socked in the stomach. "Was it you? Did you erase my memory, and send the younger me to the future?"

"No, Ritsuka, I-"

"I trusted you!"

"I was not the one…that night, but-" Soubi held his hands out helplessly.

"What night?"

"**SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU**!" the younger Ritsuka screamed. "Will you just let him explain? Don't you want to hear him?"

"But Soubi betrayed us," the older Ritsuka said angrily.

"No he didn't, he just did what Aniki told him to! Soubi loves us-I mean, he loves you! He won't erase your memory! He won't lie if he can help it. He didn't send me here. Can't you see how much he...how much he…" the younger Ritsuka's voice got lower, "Can't you see how much he hates me?"

"I don't hate you," Soubi said quickly. Too quickly.

"Liar," murmured the younger Ritsuka. "You want me gone. You don't love me at all!"

Which was not the same as hating him, Soubi could've said.

The younger Ritsuka turned to Ritsu, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I want to hear this."

"We want to hear this," the older Ritsuka corrected him. "We're ready."

\

\

\

Ritsu began.

"Not many people know that, two years ago, Seimei was replaced shortly after he left the Seven Moons. He took Soubi with him. The Fighter Unit who replaced him was called Divided, a man and a woman.

"Divided's first assignment was to bring the Beloved Fighter Unit back to the Academy. Aoyagi Seimei was on the verge of destroying the foundation of a Fighter Unit-their bond."

"What do you mean, destroying their bond?" interrupted the older Ritsuka.

"He wanted to experiment on the bond between the Fighter Units. Specifically, he wanted to find out a way to change a fighter to a sacrifice, and vice versa. Additionally, he wanted to know if a Fighter Unit's real name could be forced upon a person."

"Forced?" the younger Ritsuka asked. '"That sounds painful."

"It is. I don't even think it's possible. Under the normal circumstances, only death could separate a bonded pair. If the Sacrifice dies, the Fighter usually dies soon after. But if the Fighter dies first, there are people who can replace the Fighter, to become the Sacrifice's new Fighter."

"But that Fighter would have a bond too, right? If he joins another-"

"No. The Fighters who replace the Bonded Fighter do not have a bond, unless their new Sacrifice consents to giving the replacement fighter _his_ bond."

"What are these special replacement Fighters called?"

"Blank Fighters."

Soubi shivered.

"So far, before his faked death, Seimei can order a Blank fighter to replace a bonded Fighter, and to send a Blank fighter to an un-bonded Sacrifice, but he has not, in as far as I know, succeeded in replacing a bonded fighter with another bonded fighter. Nor has he succeeded in reversing a Fighter Unit's position."

There was a long, long silence.

"But what have I got to do with this?" the older Ritsuka asked.

"Ah. You see, we suspect that Seimei's going through all of this so that you and he could be a Bonded pair."

The older Ritsuka's mouth dropped open. "He wanted to be bonded with me? But he has Nisei!"

"Seimei is prepared to disregard that."

"Why?"

"Only Seimei knows."

"But…A Bonded Fighter Unit…can they be separated?"

"Divided was to prevent this from happening. They confronted your brother and Soubi with a challenge, a week before your tenth birthday. Beloved killed Divided, but not before they used their Fighter Unit's spell."

"What spell?"

"The spell to divide Seimei from the person he values the most. Divided, thinking that Seimei valued his Fighter the most, set up the spell to weaken Seimei. However-and I don't know why you were close enough to the spell battle that night- you were the one hit by the spell, Ritsuka. "

"The person that Aniki values the most…"

The dream he had in the car…it was true then?

"When you woke up…you know what happened next, Ritsuka. Soubi killed Divided, and we never attempted to fill in the Seven seats again, but that spell could not be erased. It could not be reversed."

* * *

\

\

\

* * *

Fin.

Well, there it is-the big explanation that's the core of this fanfic. Reactions, comments, suggestions are always welcomed through reviews.

I realized I've forgotten to tell you guys that this is my first loveless fanfic. That's why I constantly ask for reviews.

Review? Yes, you who haven't reviewed yet. I'd love to hear from you.

Favorite?

Story Alert?

Happy new year again! I'm very close to being all written-out…or maybe this fic will end soon…maybe it's up to chapter 12. I'm not too sure.

I'm not Yun Kouga. Please don't kill me for putting so much of her ideas in here…I just put them together with the thought of "Maybe this is why so-and-so".


	7. The Tiger's Trap

**Disclaimer**: I am not Yun Kouga. You are not allowed to beat me with the froggy stick accusation of plagiarism. *sticks out tongue*

*LOL*

A/N: **I LIIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE!** I suppose i should apologize for taking almost a month to post this...but there has been a lot of problems. i do have a life.

Anyway, there's a lot of action in this chapter.

Thanks to:

_**Cynthia Dollar**_

_**Promocat**_

_**Roman Juliet**_

For taking a few minutes to review the last chapter. I should hunt you down and give you a super sized hug.

Dear reader, I can tell you won't listen to my rambles, so-

* * *

Mnemosyne seven~

Seimei still remembered that night.

\

_He was watching his brother sleep. The little chest rose and fell with almost boring regularity, but he never grew tired. _

_If it had been any other day, he would have been lying down beside him and they would be asleep. _

_Ritsuka slept like a log, he never noticed Seimei squeezing in beside him. But he knew that Ritsuka felt it. H e always curled up to Seimei in his sleep. _

_Seimei allowed a brief smile to grace his lips. The world existed for them. _

_Only for them. _

_Everyone else…_

_They were unimportant. _

_And soon enough, he would be able to bond with Ritsuka. _

_His quiet moment was interrupted by a rap on glass. Seimei turned, already knowing who it would be. _

_Soubi stood outside the doors of his balcony. His Fighter, but not really his. A blank Fighter. Seimei stared at him for a moment, then got up. He undid the lock. _

"_Soubi."_

"_Seimei," The blonde artist replied. Soubi glanced at the boy on Seimei's bed. _

"_It's tonight," Soubi said. "They're nearby."_

"_Divided," Seimei said idly. "The pair who replaced us. As if they could."_

_A cold wind whispered through the curtains of Seimei's room. Ritsuka shivered on the bed, stirring restlessly. _

_Instantly Seimei was at Ritsuka's side. He fixed Soubi with an icy glare, "If you woke Ritsuka, I'll punish you, Soubi."_

"_I'm sorry."_

_To his credit, Soubi truly looked apologetic. Seimei suspected that he simply didn't know how to act around kids. _

_Seimei ignored him and rubbed his brother's head. Ritsuka stopped moving around so much, but suddenly sneezed. Seimei tucked his brother in tenderly. _

"_That pair…they're waiting in the park now, aren't they?"_

"_Yes."_

_Seimei smiled, "We should give them a proper answer to their challenge."_

/

_Divided was composed of a man and a woman. He ordered Soubi to draw the fight out—he wanted them to be hurt, but alive enough to send his answer to the Seven Moons. _

_It had begun to rain. His Fighter looked worried, but Seimei didn't mind too much if he was wet. He hardly even felt it. _

_There was a time when he thought the Seven Moons was his ally. No more. They were set on educating the young ones at the school to believe that there was no choice in bonding. _

_Why couldn't anyone understand? He was going to give them freedom. _

_The freedom to choose._

_But no, they were brainwashed by the Seven Moons. _

_If only for that…_

"_Tell me," Seimei said quietly."Is there no one who believes that the Fighter System is too forceful? We should be able to choose who we bond with."_

_For how can a Fighter Unit work well together if both were strangers to each other?_

"_It shouldn't be something determined by birth."_

_As for him, there was no one but Ritsuka that he wanted. _

_The Divided male, the Sacrifice, got up with a pained grunt. He was almost completely restricted. "You blaspheme," He spat blood. "We would not allow you to destroy that bond."_

_The Divided woman stood, "We are Divided. We would show you the real meaning of being separated."_

"_We divide you from the thing that you value the most!" they intoned in unison. _

_Seimei had to laugh. The real meaning of being separated? Were they expecting to tear him away from his Fighter? Soubi wasn't the one he valued the most!_

"_Defend. Your attack has no effect," Soubi said. Instantly, a shield rose into place before them. _

_It happened within seconds. _

_There was something wrong. Instead of recoiling against Soubi's wall, the Divided attack zigzagged away from them- into an alleyway covered by shadows._

_They missed?_

_That badly?_

_But a cold, cold December wind blew. It filled Seimei with an unexplainable sense of dread. _

_Seimei heard a thump, the thump of something falling. An umbrella slithered out from the passage._

_A dark blue umbrella with silver stars…_

_Seimei's eyes widened. There was only one person who could get that from his room. He shoved past Soubi and ran for the alleyway, his boots scattering puddles. "No, It can't be-"_

_It was._

_His little brother lay on the pavement, his eyes closed. For a moment Seimei was too stunned to do anything. _

_Why was Ritsuka here?_

_How did he know where to go?_

_What…_

_How did this happen?_

_Seimei picked him up and cradled him close, feeling for a pulse. His hands were shaking too badly. He couldn't feel it._

_Was this fear? He thought he was beyond that. It was one of the things that enabled he and Soubi to be the strongest. He feared nothing—at least not until he saw Ritsuka there, unmoving._

"_Ritsuka! Wake up! Please open your eyes! It's your Aniki!" he half sobbed. If they killed Ritsuka…_

_There was a buzzing sound in his head that was making everything blurred. His chest felt hot and heavy. _

_He was losing control. _

_As if to pull him back, Ritsuka stirred, but did not open his eyes. Seimei sucked in a breath; Ritsuka was alive! _

_Alive._

"_Seimei?" _

_Soubi had also approached the alleyway. "What…is he doing here?" he whispered, sounding confused._

_Seimei kept his head bowed. Slowly, slowly, his breaths returned to normal. Slowly, slowly, he regained his iron control. _

_Divided didn't kill Ritsuka, but he was sure they did something. _

_For that they would pay. _

_The spell to divide him from the one he valued the most…he didn't care about sending them back anymore. He had an answer, of sorts._

_Seimei uttered one word, "Kill."_

/

It was the rain, Seimei thought. It was the rain that had made him remember that night.

He stood underneath one of the awnings of Chiyako-sensei's house, watching the raindrops fill the earth. It was raining like this the night Ritsuka lost his memory.

"Seimei, you'll get soaked."

He turned. His fighter, Akane Nisei, was walking to him.

"I don't mind," Seimei said. Indeed he was standing so close to the edge of the roofed part of the house that he was getting wet, but the cold felt good.

Nisei simply stood by him for a while, "You didn't seem surprised when Merciless came back with that report."

"Oh, I was," Seimei replied. "That's why I came to see the past Ritsuka immediately. I had to see him with my own eyes. I didn't have much time, though."

"You hid your surprise well."

"I suppose," Seimei said noncommittally.

"So, do you love him? The other kid?"

Nisei didn't understand. Seimei could detect the faint sneer in his Fighter's voice.

"Of course. Why do you think I wouldn't?"

"He's different, isn't he?"

This was precisely why he hated to be asked questions—it felt like he was being asked to give parts of himself that he wasn't prepared to give. He narrowed his eyes, "Are you like the others, the ones who set requirements before they can love people? I'm not like that. Ritsuka is Ritsuka, no matter what age he is or what time he comes from.

"And before you ask," Seimei added. "Love does not come in quantities. There is no less or more when it comes to Ritsuka. I love both of them."

Nisei held up both hands, "As you say, Seimei. But you really want to order me to do something, right?"

Nisei knew him too well. "Yes. I want you to bring Ritsuka to me."

_Ritsuka, I wonder if it's also raining where you are?_

* * *

_Could not be reversed. _

The words felt alien to the older Ritsuka. He would never, never regain his memory back. Ritsu had said it.

But more than that…

Soubi! Soubi knew; he knew everything! He knew how he lost his memory, and knew why Seimei was after the Seven Moons!

"You liar!" He shouted at Soubi, flinging the words against his silent Fighter. He hated liars most of all. "You knew all along! Why didn't you tell me?"

Soubi's sky blue eyes held his anguish. "It was about the Seven Moons, Ritsuka."

"Didn't you think I had the right to know? This…this is the cause of everything!"

"Seimei's wrong," Ritsu spoke. "His goals are misguided."

The older Ritsuka ignored him. "You probably only felt sorry for me because you were there. You saw what Divided did to me!"

"No!" Soubi protested.

"Stop it!" The older Ritsuka cried. "Tell me—how can I trust you? You lie about the most important things! You came to me because Seimei ordered you to! You love me because he ordered you to! And you lied to me…you lied to me all along because Seimei ordered you to! What else is there? "

* * *

The younger Ritsuka's eyes were huge as he watched their shouting match. The older him was scary when he got mad!

"Ritsuka," Soubi's voice was soft. "Forgive me."

The older Ritsuka was suddenly vindictive. "If I don't want to?"

Soubi bowed his head, "Then it shall be as you wish."

"That's exactly what I mean!" the older Ritsuka screamed. "You don't even have enough guts to stand up to anyone, not even for the one you claim to love!"

Soubi went paper white. He looked like he had been slapped.

"That's enough," the older Ritsuka said, suddenly looking tired. "I don't want to see you, Soubi."

"Ritsuka?" the younger Ritsuka squeaked, startled. "What did you say?"

"I don't want to see you, Soubi," The older Ritsuka said slowly. "I'm going home."

"But…"

The older Ritsuka left.

The younger Ritsuka jumped down from his chair. He couldn't stand Ritsu's office, anyways. He really should decorate it with something other than zombie preserved butterflies.

"Hey, wait!"

The two adults were left in the room. The younger Ritsuka paid them no mind.

"Ritsuka! Wait up!"

The older Ritsuka was running away so fast that the younger Ritsuka was forced to do something drastic to make him stop. Quickening his pace, knowing that the older Ritsuka would hate him for this, (because he hated it when it was done to him too) he grabbed the older Ritsuka's tail and yanked.

Hard.

The older Ritsuka went down on top of the younger Ritsuka. "Ow!" the younger Ritsuka complained. "You're heavy!"

"You were the one who pulled my tail!"

"Because you were going too fast! I couldn't follow you!"

"I don't want to be followed! By anyone!"

"Well, I'll follow you, even if Soubi-san doesn't! Because we're the same!"

"**STOP SAYING THAT**!" the older Ritsuka bellowed.

The younger Ritsuka shut up, his eyes going wide again.

"I hate it that we're the same! I hate it that Mom still looks **_for_** you and not **_at_** me! I hate that you're reckless and stupid and cheerful, and that you don't understand anything about this! I hate it that you disappeared and made me live your life! **WE'RE NOT THE SAME**!"

The younger Ritsuka felt as if he'd been burned. His face crumpled. "You hate me."

"I want you to go away!" the older Ritsuka said, pushing him.

The younger Ritsuka got up. "Don't you think I'm trying?" he whispered gently.

Then, before he cried in front of the older Ritsuka, he walked out.

And the older Ritsuka did not follow him.

* * *

Back in Ritsu's office, the teacher and his former student were still in exactly the same position that the two Ritsukas left them.

Ritsu couldn't tell if Soubi had registered anything after Ritsuka had hinted that he didn't want to forgive him.

If Ritsu had been a compassionate person, a compassionate man, he could have given Soubi some comfort. But he was not, and so he took this time to confirm a suspicion.

"He was your punishment, wasn't he, Soubi?"

Soubi's head snapped up. Ah, good. So he wasn't completely catatonic.

"Seimei ordered you to become Ritsuka's fighter because he knew how painful it would be for you…to be separated from Seimei. He was your punishment for the night that you failed to protect the thing that Seimei valued the most—Ritsuka himself."

From the way Soubi's face became cold and expressionless, he had just confirmed that it was true.

"I thought you didn't like pain," Ritsu said sourly. "But you seem to be truly enjoying your time with Ritsuka. Seimei knows exactly how to torture you, even when he's not with you."

And what Ritsuka had just done hurt Soubi badly. It was more than any punishment Seimei could inflict.

The ones who you love could give you more pain than physical wounds.

"You once told me that you'd tear out your own soul if it meant stopping the pain."

Soubi turned away.

"Ritsuka isn't asking you for anything that drastic."

Ah, the ever-lasting Soubi response: Silence.

But he was here, listening to Ritsu, which was more than he'd gotten out of his former student in years. Ritsu was quite enjoying the attention.

"Go on and follow him. You've disobeyed him before," Ritsu said placidly. "Once more shouldn't matter."

* * *

When the younger Ritsuka was out of sight, the older Ritsuka-the current Ritsuka-also got up and wandered.

Classes were over and the rooms were empty. Ritsuka wondered briefly what they taught the students here—how to do spell battles? Besides that, what else was there?

Soubi.

Ritsuka had always felt a vague interest in this school because it was where Soubi studied, and where Aniki met him. This was where he met Seimei again after two whole years.

There was still so much, too much, that he didn't know. Ritsu's explanation cleared a lot. Still, it wasn't enough.

Ritsuka sighed. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he felt sorry for the way he acted. Sorry and guilty to Soubi and the younger him. They were really only trying to help—each in their own way.

But Soubi lied to him. And that was something that Ritsuka couldn't process.

Was it to protect him? Soubi protected him entirely too much then. He was no longer a child.

_Seimei ordered him to_, a voice offered.

_Shut up_, he told it. Even the voice in his head sounded like the younger him.

But what was the younger Ritsuka's mistake? Why had he shouted at him like that? He was nine. Ritsuka was twelve, and he'd always insisted that he was not a child. Shouldn't he be the level headed one?

He was frustrated with the whole situation. He was beginning to think that maybe Seimei was right. All this, Loveless, Beloved, Sleepless, Breathless-all those names, they were degrading. Who would want a name like Loveless?

If he bonded with Seimei, would he get Seimei's name?

Would he get a new name?

Would he be…

Able to leave his Sentouki behind?

Ritsuka was surprised when he felt sunlight on his face. He'd gotten into the greenhouse.

It was like the greenhouse inside the Wisdom Resurrection chatroom. He didn't know the Fighter School had a greenhouse in the first place, and it lifted his spirits slightly to see so much vibrant life in one place. He reached out and touched a petal—a rose's.

"I didn't know guys liked flowers," commented a voice he thought he knew.

Ritsuka raised his head, then took a step back. Standing before him was the Merciless pair-Akira and Anita.

* * *

The younger Ritsuka had seen the playground from a window when they came in. He had wanted to ask Soubi-san if he could play there, but the look on his face told the younger Ritsuka that Soubi was ignoring him again.

Now he was here by himself. There was no one else around. All the students were probably in their dormitories. Youji had told him about it.

He crawled into one of the tubes and curled up to his knees. He wanted the pain he felt to be small and crushed, so that it would not hurt so much.

He was…

Yes.

Melancholy.

Soubi belonged to the other Ritsuka. And the other Ritsuka hated him. He couldn't go back home or back to school because the other Ritsuka was there. He didn't want to go on living with Soubi and seeing the blond adult look at him as he often did—like he was poison.

_If this is a dream, let me please wake up_, he prayed silently.

He wished that Seimei was here. Seimei would cuddle him and play with him. He'd even find a way for him to go back to school if that was what Ritsuka wanted.

But Ritsu-sensei and the others were saying that Seimei was doing something terrible. Yes, he did pretend to die. And maybe it wasn't so out of character for Seimei to want to hurt other people. For Seimei, that was normal.

Still…

He was Ritsuka's forever big brother.

He needed to find him.

That was where he was supposed to be—by Seimei's side. At least he knew that Seimei would want him.

That being decided, the younger Ritsuka crawled out from the tube. He figured that he should get down to the waiting house first.

Oh-

Kio would be there. And he would ask where he was going.

The younger Ritsuka paced in a small circle. How to get past Kio?

If he had a big distraction—like a bomb or something—he could throw it to one side of the waiting house and Kio would come running out. That was how it happened in the movies, anyways. But the younger Ritsuka didn't have a bomb, so he would have to settle for-

His eyes fell on something leaning against the monkey bars.

A bike!

He brightened. If he got to the freeway, he could ask for directions—to where, he wasn't sure, but at least the others wouldn't chase him.

He got on the bike and began to pedal.

* * *

"Hey, isn't that Ritsuka?" Ai asked Midori, pointing out the window.

Midori glanced in that direction, "Oh, yeah. I wonder why he's here?"

"Where is he going?" Ai wondered. "Isn't that one of the school bikes?"

"Let's go ask Ritsu-sensei," Midori suggested.

The Sentouki nodded, "He's our friend after all."

* * *

"Merciless…" Ritsuka whispered.

"We're not here to fight," Akira told him calmly. "Seimei asked us to fetch you."

"Aniki?"

"He wants to meet you," Anita clarified. "We're taking you to him."

"I don't want to!"

"We didn't say you had a choice," Akira said.

_Soubi, come save me!_

Anita took a step towards him, and Ritsuka turned to run. He hated running, since it made him feel helpless and a coward, but what else was he supposed to do? He was one half of a fighter unit, and not even the useful half.

Why would Soubi come anyway? He told him that he didn't want to see him anymore. This time he might just take Ritsuka's orders.

But what if…

There he went again, trusting Soubi even though he was a liar. Ritsuka shook his head furiously, as if to fling the thoughts away. He was supposed to be running.

Akira! He had forgotten her. Now the Sacrifice blocked his way.

Nowhere to run-

"Aah!" Anita yelled suddenly.

Despite himself, Ritsuka stopped running and looked back.

His heart began to leap wildly in his chest. All the fear was gone—he was safe.

Soubi stared at Ritsuka, one hand clamped around Akira's shoulder. "I'm sorry for being late, Ritsuka."

* * *

The bike was too big for him, making it difficult to control. The Seven Moons Academy was surrounded by a forest.

He rode past all of it—the trees, the ferns, everything. Nothing was green. It was autumn, so everything was either yellow or orange or red. There was a chilly breeze in the air.

Once or twice he spotted a hidden camera in the foliage. He did his best to hide from them. He didn't want anyone knowing that he was leaving.

He was nearly at the waiting house when he saw another camera winking at him from the trees. He jerked the huge bike out of the lens' view-

Then suddenly the world turned upside down. He had driven the bike straight into a tree, and the younger Ritsuka was thrown off. He felt his wrist bang against the handlebars and then there was a great weight on his legs. He screamed, and then blacked out.

/

"Kid? Kiddo! Hey, Touji! Wake up!"

The younger Ritsuka heard Kio's voice clearly. His eyes fluttered open.

"He lives!" Kio cheered.

"What…happened?" he whispered. He was in Kio's lap. He didn't remember how he had gotten there. Didn't the bike fall on him?

Kio was still smiling, but his eyes were worried. "I was waiting for you and the others to come back. I heard a yell and I found you here. Now, Kiddo, what happened? Where are Sou-chan and your big bro?"

At the thought of the other Ritsuka, he frowned. He rolled off Kio and stood up—or tried to. He managed one second on his feet before he was falling again.

Kio caught him. "Easy there. I think you sprained your ankle. That bike's too big for you anyway."

"NO! I have to-I have to-"

"Calm down, Tou-chan. Did you get into a fight with Sou-chan or Ritsuka? Is that why you're here?"

The younger Ritsuka's face burned. To be found out so easily…"They don't want me to be there anyway, so I…" His ears twitched, "I wanted to go to Seimei."

The adult stared at him for a minute, then gave him a Chupa-Chup. While the younger Ritsuka was still distracted, Kio scooped him up as easily as a rag doll.

"Wah! Put me down!"

"Not doing it. You can't walk and we need to talk."

"What are we going to talk about? Where are we going? I don't want to go to Soubi-san or to the other Ritsuka, so leave me alone! Alone!" He pummeled Kio angrily. "Ow!" he yelped as he jostled his leg.

Kio simply kept his head out of the younger Ritsuka's fists, "Why do you think that Ritsuka doesn't want you?"

"Because he said so!"

"I'm sure he wasn't serious, Touji."

"He was too."

"Maybe he's just scared of you," Kio suggested. "Do you visit him often?"

"No."

"So you see? He doesn't know you. People are scared of what they don't know."

"That's silly," he huffed.

"People usually are."

The younger Ritsuka crossed his arms. He felt like he was being talked down to, and he hated that.

He hadn't changed his mind about running away, but maybe…what Kio said was true. It was still stupid, of course. If the other Ritsuka was scared of him all he needed to do was to say so. The younger Ritsuka would understand—after all, he was scared too.

"You're suddenly quiet," Kio observed.

"Maybe you're right," the younger Ritsuka admitted reluctantly.

"So you won't go away now?"

"No! I still need to go. Seimei needs me."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," said a stranger behind them.

* * *

"You," hissed Kio.

He had seen this person only once—when he was taken by Bloodless. He was the prisoner that was given in exchange for him.

"Akane Nisei," he introduced himself with a smile. "Beloved." He held out his hand, which indeed sported the word.

Kio felt the boy in his arms stiffen. He looked down. Touji was looking at Nisei intently, his eyes narrowed.

"Did you injure yourself?"Nisei asked Touji. "I'm here to take you to Seimei."

Kio didn't know why, but he hated this guy. He hated the way Nisei was looking at Touji—like Ritsuka's little brother was someone's pet he was sent to fetch. He hated the way that Nisei was ignoring him and talking only to Touji. He hated how dismissively Akane Nisei glanced at Touji's swelling ankle.

Kio knew that this was a man who didn't think anything of using violence to get his way.

"Did you send for him?" Kio asked Touji now.

Touji shook his head, still not taking his eyes off Nisei, "I don't know him."

Nisei circled them, and Kio shifted to face him. If Touji was suspicious of Nisei, he wasn't going to hand him over.

Nisei laughed, "I thought you wanted to be with Seimei? Don't make this difficult, Ritsuka."

"Ritsuka?" Kio repeated.

"I don't want to go with YOU," Touji announced, folding his arms. "If Seimei wanted to see me, he should just go here."

Nisei shook his head, "He can't just go in here after the last time, moron."

And Kio knew what was going to happen before it did: Touji leant forward so violently that he slipped out of Kio's arms. "Don't call me a moron!"

"Kiddo!"

"Ow," Touji gasped, his face going pale. He'd landed on his sprained ankle.

"Are you al-"

Then, the air was knocked out of Kio as Nisei slammed him against the wall. Kio was disoriented for a few critical seconds before he heard a click.

"Kio!" he heard Touji cry.

Kio came to his senses in time to see a gun pointed at his head. Nisei had his forearm braced against Kio's shoulders, keeping their bodies close. He was impossibly strong.

Touji was staring at the two adults with wide eyes, his fright so palpable that Kio tried to fight Nisei off. That expression was so wrong on Touji's face. Kio squirmed harder.

Nisei averted the gun for a moment, then shot Kio's right hand.

\

Everything went white.

Touji screamed. He scrambled to his feet, trying to pounce on Nisei, but Nisei placed back the gun back to the side of Kio's head.

"Seimei has ordered me not to harm you," Kio heard Nisei say as waves of pain washed over him. "But he didn't say anything about hurting anyone else. Now. Come with me or I'll kill him and take you with me anyway."

Kio held the pain at bay long enough to focus on Touji. "Don't," he croaked.

Touji was shaking; Kio could see it from where he was. The kid looked down to see Kio's blood—a lot of it—dripping down onto the floor. "Kio," he whimpered.

"I'll be fine, kiddo. You shouldn't-"

Nisei hit Kio's mouth with the side of his gun, "Don't force me to use a Spell on you." His gaze turned back to Touji. "Well?"

Touji only stared at Nisei. Kio shook his head at him.

"Well?" Nisei asked again, this time cocking the gun.

"All right, all right!" Touji said desperately. "I'll go with you, just don't hurt him anymore!"

_No…_ Kio watched helplessly as Touji's shoulders slumped with defeat._ I'm sorry_, Kio wanted to say. _This is all my fault._

"Now that is exactly what I wanted to hear," Nisei said, looking pleasant again. "At least blood didn't get on my clothes. Can you walk, or should I carry you?"

Touji bit his lip. Then, he pushed himself to his feet, wobbling.

Nisei swept forward to steady him, but Touji pushed him away. "Get away from me," Touji said in a voice that sounded exactly like Ritsuka's.

Kio blinked. Although confused, he silently cheered Touji on as he took step after painful step. Nisei let go of Kio.

Finally!

Kio ran at Nisei again, unwilling to take any part in this kidnap from under his very nose. But Nisei ducked and the next thing Kio felt was a blow to his head.

"Run away, kiddo," he whispered, before the darkness took him.

* * *

"What happened?" Ritsuka wondered.

The Merciless pair had behaved most strangely. They had claimed that they were ordered by Seimei to "fetch Ritsuka", whatever that meant. However, they declined to participate in a Spell Battle and instead took on Soubi in a fistfight.

Soubi agreed.

Now Ritsuka stood behind Soubi, watching his Fighter wipe blood from his mouth. Soubi's head was bowed, and Akira and Anita seemed tireless.

"Soubi," Ritsuka began.

Soubi turned to look at him. It was the first time that Ritsuka addressed his Sentouki directly.

"I'll protect you, Ritsuka. Don't worry."

"Soubi," Ritsuka repeated. "Shut up and listen to me."

Akira laughed, "You really should listen when your Sacrifice tells you something."

"I will not give Ritsuka to you."

"Didn't I tell you to listen to me?" Ritsuka said, exasperated.

Obediently, Soubi returned his gaze to him.

Ritsuka looked at Soubi directly. "Get up and fight."

Soubi looked surprised for a moment. Then he relaxed.

"Yes, Master," Soubi murmured, rising to his feet.

And Ritsuka knew it-they were going to win.

Nothing could stop Soubi when he wore an expression like that.

Just then, a phone rang. Anita reached into her pocket and put the phone to her ear. "Hello? Oh, really? That's too bad, we were getting to a good part…All right." She looked at Akira, "Let's go. We're finished here."

"What?" Ritsuka said.

Akira didn't say anything, just followed Anita as they ran for the door. Soubi tried to stop them, but Akira destroyed a large flower pot at the other Sentouki's feet.

"Stop!"

Anita turned back. Her face was almost sad. "Shouldn't you first try to find what you've lost, Ritsuka?"

* * *

"Are you all right, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka looked up at Soubi. His lip was bleeding, and there was a bruise on his jaw. A button was missing from his coat, but otherwise he seemed fine. "Aren't you the one who fought?" he asked, angry at Soubi for getting himself hurt.

Soubi smiled, "I'm fine."

Ritsuka turned away, unwilling to fight with Soubi again. "What did they mean, what I lost?" He asked instead.

"I have no idea." Soubi's brows furrowed, then he looked around. "I only realized this now, but where's the other one?"

"The-" Ritsuka began.

"Hey, Ritsuka!"

They turned. Midori and Ai were at the entrance of the greenhouse.

"So you're here after all!" Ai exclaimed. "We thought there was a spell battle."

"There was." Soubi replied as the three kids exchanged greetings. "They escaped."

"We have to tell Ritsu-sensei that there were intruders again. I guess it must have been our imagination, seeing Ritsuka on a bike, Ai," Midori finally said.

"Yeah."

"What is it?" Ritsuka asked keenly. "You saw me on a bike?"

Ai blinked, "You were going to the waiting house."

There was a silence.

"Ritsuka, what happened?" Soubi inquired. "He was with you, wasn't he?"

"He…" Ritsuka was turning pale. "I yelled at him, and he went away."

"Away where?"

"Who are you talking about?" Midori demanded.

Ritsuka and Soubi ignored him. If the younger Ritsuka was alone when Merciless came…

What if Merciless wasn't alone?

The younger Ritsuka had no Fighter to defend him.

What if someone from Seimei's side saw the younger Ritsuka?

Soubi's phone beeped, and they all jumped. Soubi reached for his phone.

And his eyes widened at the name.

_Seimei…_

"Soubi?"

It rang and rang.

"Who is it?"

Wordlessly, Soubi pressed the "answer" key.

Instantly, Seimei's voice was in his ear. Only two sentences, but they confirmed his belief that he'd failed terribly.

"You are still my Fighter. You are not to go after him."

Then the line went dead.

* * *

And by the time they found Kio, almost an hour later, it was too late.

The little Ritsuka was gone.

* * *

That's it for the seventh. thank you for the people who stay with me though I took a long time between chapters.

Drop me a line or two. even if it's just to whack me with a rubber chicken for making you. dear reader, wait.

Any comments on the story/chapter will be welcomed as well.

i've finally gotten enough nerve to ask someone to beta-read my story! this is a shout out to **CheyWolfe**. Hi, chey! We went through a lot to get this chapter up, didn't we? * laughs *

REVIEW! clicky the little button...please!


	8. Impending Tremors, Crumbling Foundations

A/N: I'm sorry! Life took hold of me and just recently spat me out from its merciless jaws. *laughs *

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy!

* * *

Mnemosyne Eight~

The late afternoon was giving way to a starlit twilight. Ritsuka and Soubi sat in Kio's room-his room in Nagisa-sensei's clinic- waiting for him to wake.

There was no one else to tell them how it happened. Only Kio was there, and he was unconscious now. It was quickly determined that none of Kio's wounds were fatal, but he wouldn't be able to paint for a month.

Ritsuka stared at Kio, but it wasn't Kio that he was seeing. It was his younger self.

How could this have happened? The one time that he turned his back…just one moment, and the other him was gone, into the hands of Seimei himself.

Seimei.

He didn't even understand why he was so frightened for Chibi. He was sure that Seimei wouldn't hurt him…

But there were other ways he could be harmed.

If Kio was shot…

What about the other Ritsuka? What had happened to him?

What if Seimei had nothing to do with this?

If it was someone else?

No, the Merciless pair hinted that they knew who took Chibi. That could only mean that it was Seimei's plan.

"Who could have done this?" Ritsuka asked aloud. He didn't really expect an answer, so he was surprised when he heard Kio's voice.

"Akane Nisei."

"Kio!" Exclaimed Ritsuka. "You're awake!"

Soubi leaned forward, "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." For a second Ritsuka thought that he was referring to his wound, but then Kio continued, "It happened right in front of me and I wasn't able to stop it. I'm so sorry, Ritsuka. He took Touji."

"Don't blame yourself," Ritsuka said.

Kio smiled sadly, "But it was my fault. Nisei threatened to kill me if Touji didn't go with him! I couldn't even fight him because he had a gun!"

"I think you'd better start at the beginning, Kio," Soubi advised. "How did you meet up with him?"

Kio fell silent."I'll tell you, but I want to know some things."

The Sentouki and Sacrifice exchanged a glance. They knew that this was inevitable.

"Ask," Ritsuka said at last. "If we can answer…"

"I understand," Kio said, but he looked disappointed. He took a deep breath, "First—is he really your brother, Ritsuka?"

Ritsuka froze. "What makes you ask that?"

"Nisei kept calling him by your name. He didn't deny it or say that it wasn't his name. If he did- If Nisei wanted only you- he wouldn't have been taken. Nisei would not have been there. And…and, there were times when Touji sounded exactly like you do, Ritsuka."

"I-" Ritsuka swallowed, "I can't answer that."

"Why?"

"Because! It's the reason why Seimei wants him! I can't—you're already too involved. When Seimei is also involved, innocent people can get hurt."

Kio stared at him, and Ritsuka glared right back. "You can't tell me that," Kio said quietly. He held up his injured hand. "You owe me."

"I don't owe you anything," Ritsuka mumbled, looking away.

"He said that you didn't want him."

Ritsuka's eyes widened and Kio saw his chance. "That was why he ran away from you, wasn't it? He fell off his bike-which he probably stole, by the way-and he sprained his ankle. But when Nisei attacked me, he fought, even though any fool could see how scared he was! I can't-I won't-forget something like that. I want to know why it happened!"

"Ritsuka does not owe you anything," Soubi repeated harshly.

Kio flinched at Soubi's tone. So he would prefer Ritsuka over him?

Kio always suspected that, and yet…

"Then at least tell me this." Kio pleaded. "Will you go after him?"

* * *

"We're here."

The younger Ritsuka jerked out of a thin, hazy sleep. After he had seen Kio collapse, he had been so convinced that Nisei killed Kio and that he had become hysterical. Finally, Nisei lifted him up and slung him into the back of the waiting car so roughly that he landed on his sprained ankle.

He woke several times: once when the Merciless pair hopped on and once when they stopped at a gasoline station. Both times, the younger Ritsuka felt so hungry and tired that he just went back to sleep—to dreams that would end in him being all alone.

He wondered how Kio was. He hoped that he wasn't dead.

What would happen if Nisei and the Merciless pair lied? What if they weren't from Seimei? Aniki had always told him not to talk to strangers, much less accept a ride from one.

But this was an exception to the rule, wasn't it?

He looked out the windows. He didn't have a watch, and the best guess he could give was that they had been travelling for at least two hours, for it was almost evening.

He pulled the car door open and tumbled out. He remembered just enough to make sure that he landed on his uninjured foot. He hopped around, one hand on the car door, trying to balance himself.

"Don't push yourself."

He looked around. Akira was looking at him, her face compassionate. "Are you all right? Did Nisei do that to you?"

He shook his head. He didn't even know which one of the questions she asked he was answering.

"You can talk, you know."

"Why were you there?" he asked at once.

"We were sent to fetch you."

"Me?"

"And the other Ritsuka."

"You what?" the younger Ritsuka yelped. "You took him too?"

"No, Soubi protected him."

At those words, the younger Ritsuka was hit by different emotions. First was relief. At least the other Ritsuka , the older Ritsuka, was safe.

The other Ritsuka, the one who was always angry-he didn't have to be dragged into this. The younger Ritsuka didn't want that.

Or else the older Ritsuka might get mad again.

Second, quickly following the relief, was disappointment. Soubi…protected the other one, and not him. Did they even know that he was gone?

Did they care?

The younger Ritsuka grimaced. They probably didn't. The others were probably glad that he was gone. The older Ritsuka could have his life back.

"I see," he said quietly, his ears drooping. "Do you…know anything else? There was a guy who was with me when I was taken. His name is Kio. Is he all right?"

Akira raised her left eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be asking Nisei that?"

"I don't want to talk to him," spat the younger Ritsuka. "I don't want to go near him or see him ever again."

The Sentouki girl looked taken aback to hear such hatred from a young boy. "What did he do?"

"What are you talking about over there?" Nisei called out bossily.

"Nothing," Akira said at once. The younger Ritsuka's face was like stone.

"Well if you've finished with your little chat," Nisei said, unimpressed, "We'll go to-"

"There's no need, Nisei." A man stepped out from the house, "I'm here."

At the sound of that voice, the younger Ritsuka perked up. "Seimei!" he cried out with joy. He ran to his older brother, forgetting about his sprained ankle. "Seimei-Seimei-Seimei!"

He jumped, fully expecting Seimei to catch him, "Aniki!"

He was here! Aniki was here. The younger Ritsuka felt faint with giddiness. Despite everything, Akane Nisei was really Aniki's Fighter. And Aniki wanted him badly enough to send for him…unlike the others…

There was something wrong with all of this, he knew, but he pushed the thoughts back. For now all that mattered was that they were together.

Seimei laughed and held him tightly. "It's good to see you looking well," he said.

"It's good to see you, too, Aniki," the younger Ritsuka sniffled. "I was so scared." He buried his head on Seimei's shoulder. This had to be the best place in the world: in Seimei's embrace.

"What's this?" Seimei looked at his foot. "You're hurt?"

Ritsuka froze, recognizing the dangerous edge to Seimei's words. "I fell off a bike," he explained.

Seimei turned his gaze to Nisei. "And you didn't treat him?" he asked, his voice getting softer.

More dangerous.

"I'm sorry, Seimei. You did tell me to get him here as soon as-"

Suddenly, the younger Ritsuka cried out. Nisei had fallen over, clutching his hand. Even from Seimei's arms, Ritsuka could see the "Beloved" letters bleeding, glowing red, and Nisei's face was so pale-

"Aniki! Stop it!" The younger Ritsuka cried out in distress.

"I'm only punishing him, Ritsuka."

"Stop it," The younger Ritsuka pleaded, "Please, Seimei."

Nisei was still doubled over on the ground, unable to speak.

"Don't you want him to be punished? He scared you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did, but that's no reason to-! ANIKI!"

Seimei finally lifted the Punishment off his Fighter. "Ritsuka, don't try to tell me what to do. You know how much I hate that."

Ritsuka returned his brother's gaze squarely, "Aniki, he hurt me and not you. If anyone has to punish him…it would be me. It's my fight. It's my right."

"Then you will punish him?" Seimei's eyes were gleaming. "He is not your Fighter."

"I can still do it."

"Very well," Seimei said agreeably. "Nisei, you will submit yourself to whatever Ritsuka wishes to do with you."

"I understand," Nisei choked out.

"Would you like to decide now, Ritsuka?" Seimei purred in his ear.

But the younger Ritsuka shook his head, "Maybe later…I'm hungry and I'm tired and my foot hurts."

"All right, we'll take care of that first," Seimei headed inside, his younger brother in his arms.

Merciless watched the whole scene with amazement. Ritsuka stared at Nisei, and for a minute, their eyes met.

_Know that the punishment I will inflict will be lighter than the one that Seimei would have given you, _Ritsuka thought.

And, somehow, Nisei heard his thoughts.

Why do this, then? You hate me.

_I fight my own battles. I do not need a Fighter to protect me._

_/  
_

Seimei entered a room that looked like the kitchen.

"Seimei, where are we?" Ritsuka asked.

"Shh," Seimei responded, setting him down on the counter. "Let's treat your ankle first. Are you hungry? Tired? Sleepy?"

"Yes, all three."

"We can eat an early dinner. Just the two of us."

"Yeah, sure," the younger Ritsuka said, puzzled. "What about the others?"

"They don't matter."

Ritsuka's ears twitched in his unease. How easily his brother pushed aside other people…

Seimei finally got some ice out and put them in a towel. "Hold this over your ankle," he instructed. "Once the swelling goes down, I'll give you a massage. What happened?"

He obeyed. The coldness of the ice made him flinch. "I wanted to come to you, Seimei. But I got lost."

His older brother's back was turned to him. He was making dinner, Ritsuka saw. Just some stir-fried veggies and pork chops. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine. But…Aniki?"

"Yes?"

"You wanted the other Ritsuka too, didn't you?"

Seimei paused, in the middle of turning over a pork chop,"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I love you, Ritsuka."

The younger Ritsuka crossed his arms, "Then why didn't you come and fetch me yourself?"

Seimei glared at him. "Ritsuka," he warned.

"Well it's true. And what happened two years ago? Mom's so different and Dad's disappeared. The other Ritsuka hates me and Soubi hates me too! Then there's this whole Fighter business, Aniki. Why do you want me to be your partner?"

"Because I love you, Ritsuka," Seimei repeated.

"What about…Nisei? Soubi? They're your Fighters too."

"Bird and dog."

"Huh?"

"Nisei's like a bird, and Soubi's like a dog. Do you think I'll waste my time with them?"

Ritsuka cast his gaze downward. He had also forgotten how cold Seimei could be.

Suddenly his brother's fingers were at either side of his cheeks. Seimei lifted his face up, "Did I make you sad?"

"Yes," breathed the younger Ritsuka. His heart sped up at Seimei's proximity.

His brother…was different.

"This is the real me. This is who I am. Can't you accept that?"

"I can. I will," Ritsuka assured him hastily. "But, Aniki? Why did you pretend to die?"

Seimei was still too close. "I needed some time alone. Ritsu told you everything?"

Ritsuka nodded.

"I knew that the Seven Moons would never let me go on with my research. The only way that I could accomplish that would be to pretend to die." Seimei let go of his cheeks, only to pull Ritsuka closer to himself. "I missed you, though. So much. If I contacted you, even just once, the Seven Moons would be all over you.

"That is why I gave you Soubi. So that he will protect you. And I kept you ignorant of the other things. It was all for you, Ritsuka. For you and your safety."

"You left Mom too."

"You needed her more than I do," Seimei said simply.

The younger Ritsuka thought back to the night that he saw Misaki beating the other him. "Why couldn't I have come with you?" the younger Ritsuka whispered. Things could have been different…so different.

"You were too young," There was no blame in Seimei's voice. His big brother set down a bowl of rice in front of him. "Eat. You need your strength."

And so Ritsuka ate, almost absently, intently watching Seimei.

The big brother he thought he knew.

* * *

Soubi remembered.

He first met Ritsuka four years ago, when he was still not assigned as his Fighter. Of course, he'd heard Seimei talk about him—bits of information here and there, but it was forbidden for him, Soubi, to approach someone as pure as Aoyagi Ritsuka.

Soubi waited outside the gates of Seimei's school. There was a Fighter Unit in the area, and he wanted to make sure that his Sacrifice was safe. Seimei was still in middle school and only elementary school students were out. Soubi knew that the younger kids were dismissed a little earlier than the middle school and high school students.

Kids were playing, chasing each other. Soubi didn't really see them, at least, not until a soccer ball rolled up to his feet.

"I'll get it!" a high, excited voice called out.

Soubi stared as a small boy ran out the school gates and bent, clearly intent on getting the ball. He wore a white jacket with dark blue piping over his school uniform.

Soubi kneeled down and caught the ball. He held it out to the child—then stopped in surprise.

Black hair, cat ears and tail. Wide, unassuming violet eyes. That face…This child could only be Seimei's younger brother.

"Thanks, Mister!" the child said cheerfully. He grabbed the ball and left. Soubi saw that he returned to his group of friends, and they all resumed playing soccer.

In fact, Soubi was so mesmerized by the boy that he was still watching when Seimei came out. He saw Seimei spot him at the gates. The soccer-ball child ran up to Seimei and hugged him.

There could be no doubt now. That boy was Ritsuka. Seimei would never allow anyone else to touch him.

Now the two brothers were walking to the gates. Ritsuka was saying his goodbyes to his friends, and then he was beside Seimei, still playing around with his ball.

Soubi heard his chatter before they realized that he was there.

"-said that I can play in the next game as a goalie. But I think I'd like it better if I was a player, I practice a lot and I can run fast too. You'll watch my game, right, Aniki?"

"Of course."

"That's good."

"I need to go somewhere after school, Rit-chan. Will you be all right by yourself?"

"I can handle Mom. Will you be late?"

"I don't think so…" Seimei's tone turned cruel. "…right, Soubi?"

"Yes, Seimei," Soubi said.

Ritsuka's eyes alighted on him. He smiled at him again, and Soubi's heart fluttered. Seeing that face reward him with an expression that Seimei would never wear for him…

"Oh! An adult! You know him, Seimei?"

"Somewhat. Run along now, Ritsuka."

The boy nodded, "Be safe, Aniki."

And even at sixteen, Soubi felt a faint prickle of curiosity at the farewell. It was a strange way to say good bye.

/

Soubi replayed this memory in his head as Ritsu, Nagisa, and Nana discussed the possible means how Merciless and Nisei took the younger Ritsuka.

"…the security isn't as good in the waiting house. I'm sorry. I should have extended it," Nana said, her voice heavy with guilt.

"How did Merciless get in?"

"We don't know. Seimei must have realized that we would have tightened security against him or Nisei, so they sent a new face that we wouldn't immediately recognize. And they didn't initiate a spell battle. If they did, we would've been there in seconds."

"Your new security can sense spell battles?"

"Yes."

How precisely had Seimei planned everything?

Ritsu cleared his throat, "Will he be back for the current Ritsuka?"

The three remaining members of the Seven Moons glanced at the Ritsuka remaining to them. "I think he will," Ritsuka said quietly.

"Then we need to protect-"

"No," Ritsuka cut Nana off. "I am Seimei's ally. I'm not afraid of him."

"Now that's just stupid, boy," Nagisa growled. "You're not telling me that spawn of Satan-"

"Don't call him spawn of Satan!" Ristuka said hotly.

"He is!" Nagisa retorted. She would never forgive Seimei for what he did to Ritsu. "Don't you know that the matter of being a Fighter or a Sacrifice is decided by genetics? That's why you and your brother are both Sacrifices. Soubi's mother was also a Fighter. It's impossible to change your genetic code without mutation-like effects. Now think, boy: if it was a choice, who would Seimei put at risk to change the genetic code? Himself, or you?"

* * *

Just like old times, the younger Ritsuka and Seimei took a bath together. Then, they went to the same room, on the same bed. Aniki told him that he had his own room, but the younger Ritsuka wanted to stay with Seimei tonight.

"What's this, Aniki?" the younger Ritsuka said with interest. There was a box on Seimei's table with his name on it.

"A gift."

"For me?" the younger Ritsuka squealed. At Seimei's nod, the younger Ritsuka eagerly opened the box.

His heart leapt in joy. "A plane! Cool!" It was a bomber plane, the remote control kind that was three feet in wingspan.

The younger Ritsuka carefully lifted it out of the box, "I can play with it, can't I?"

"It's bedtime."

"It's only seven in the evening. I'm nine, not three," Chibi argued. "C'mon Seimei?"

"I thought you were tired," Seimei remarked. "Very well, you can play with that. Just don't wander too far. It's getting dark."

Immediately, the younger Ritsuka ran off. "Okay! I'll go and explore."

"Be safe, little brother," Seimei called.

The younger Ritsuka hid a grin as he turned past hallways without any real purpose. It was exactly what Ritsuka thought would happen: that he would be allowed to do what he wanted when he wanted to. It was absolutely fantastic. It wasn't like this with the other Ritsuka or Soubi.

/

The younger Ritsuka needed a place where he could fly the plane. Somewhere wide enough, or big enough. Maybe a window? Yes. That would work.

In the meantime…

He spotted a phone and used it to dial their home. Three rings, then their mother was screeching in his left ear-"Seimei? Ritsuka? Is that you?"

"It's me, Mom—Ritsuka," He sighed. He should have known that Mom would have a panic attack by now. "I'm with Seimei."

"With Seimei? Ritsuka…it's seven in the evening! Won't you come home? I cooked all your favorite foods!"

"Sure, we'll come home, Mom." Seimei would let them go home eventually, right? "But not now. Ano…Seimei and I are staying over at his friend's house and he has something to do here. He says that we'll have to stay together-"

The younger Ritsuka's words were rambling together now, explaining to their mother what he could understand of the whole situation. "-and until then, I'll call you every day. Okay, Mom?"

"Ritsuka…"

"Oh, Mom…You'll keep your promise, right?"

"What promise?"

"The one where you said that you weren't going to hurt me anymore?"

There was a silence.

"Mom?"

Still, more silence.

"MOM! I won't go home if you won't keep that promise! I'll be afraid to go home if you keep on hitting me!"

"I will," Misaki whispered. "I'll…keep my promise. I won't hurt you. Don't be scared, Ritsuka, my baby Ritsuka," she crooned. "If I keep that promise you'll come home, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I will."

"Just wait there, Mom. I'll be back home soon. I'm sorry you had to cook all that food for nothing. Love you! Bye!"

"Good night," Misaki replied.

The younger Ritsuka put the phone back in its cradle, wondering why he felt like it was the last time that he would get to speak to his mother.

* * *

Earthquakes seldom start abruptly. Everyday there were little tremors under our feet, but one hardly notices them, because they are only that—little tremors.

But these little tremors could give way to an earthquake—the kind that destroys foundations.

* * *

Soubi wondered if this was what insanity felt like.

Ritsuka only looked away when he told him of Seimei's orders. Soubi could read Ritsuka's mind, accusing him-

"_You don't love me enough to defy him. You never did, did you?"_

Which wasn't true, he loved Ritsuka more than he loved Seimei-

But Seimei's dominance over him was like a set of chains without an end.

The younger Ritsuka, now:

"_They won't break, you silly adult! That's what chains are for!"_

The younger Ritsuka was right.

Soubi wished desperately that Ritsuka would punish him.

He hated pain.

But anything HAD to be better than this hole in his heart.

He would take the wounds if it would distract him from these feelings,

Of inadequacy,

Of self-hatred,

Of burning helplessness.

Anything.

_Please punish me, Ritsuka…_

_The pain from the inside is tearing me apart._

That was why he asked for punishment—because if he hurt sufficiently on the outside, he would forget about his pain inside.

And the pain inside…

Sometimes it hurt more.

He was never a masochist, but he knew that people saw him that way.

He wanted to take the younger Ritsuka to safety before Seimei could go through with what he wanted.

He wanted to be owned by none other than Ritsuka.

He wanted to kill Nisei for taking the younger Ritsuka.

He wanted, he wanted, he wanted.

He was a Fighter. He lived for nothing but his Sacrifice's wishes. It was not right for him to want something.

It was not right…but it felt right.

Soubi also wanted to cry and scream, but he wasn't going to do that either.

Then, a soft hand was placed on his shoulder. The Sentouki was aware that people were talking around him, but he had tuned everything out.

However, this touch…

He knew this touch, this hand, those small fingers.

"Ritsuka," He breathed.

"It's alright," Ritsuka whispered, his voice like a light he could follow in his darkness. Like sweet rain upon a scorching desert. "It's all right, Soubi. I'll go there alone."

His Sacrifice's face was full of mercy and forgiveness he didn't deserve.

* * *

"ALONE?" screeched Nagisa. "Do you even know where he is?"

"I can call him," Ritsuka said.

"And he'll tell you?" Nana said dubiously.

"I'm his brother." Ritsuka, seeing that no one was convinced, added, "He'll want me to come…alone."

"Ritsuka," Soubi's voice was filled with pain. "Don't. Seimei will only hurt you more."

Ritsu spoke, "We can do nothing in this situation but let you do as you wish."

Everyone looked at him in shock, even Ritsuka.

"You're letting me go?" Ritsuka asked shakily. He didn't think that they would.

But he had to rescue the other Ritsuka!

He had to.

If Seimei changed the younger him…

How would the future change?

He didn't want that!

What if he would not meet the people that he knew now?

"We can't let Seimei do as he wishes…to you or the younger you. What do you think Divided died for?" Ritsu asked. "Right now, you're the best chance that we've got."

Nagisa, who had her mouth open again to protest, clamped it shut. Nana looked away.

"Don't screw it up, boy," Ritsu said.

* * *

Ritsuka asked to be excused while he called his brother. When he came out, his face was pale.

"How did it go?" Nagisa asked. "Did he tell you?"

Ritsuka, tight-lipped, nodded.

"So where is it?" she nagged.

"I can't tell you."

"I suspected as much," Nana sighed. "You…really won't take Soubi?"

All of them glanced at the Sentouki seated at Ritsu's office. Soubi's head was in his hands. He looked desperate.

"I can't," Ritsuka whispered. "If I do…if I order him to…he'll tear himself apart."

"He needs to make up his damn mind," Hissed Nagisa. "If he's so loyal to you or to Seimei. "

There was a silence.

"I know," Ritsuka replied. "But now, I can't…he's not ready. I promised that I'll treat him better. As a person. And I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about," He said confidently. "Seimei won't hurt me."

Ritsu considered the little Sacrifice. "That much may be true," He said. "How are you going to get to where they are without telling us?"

"I can take a cab," Suggested Ritsuka.

"I'll drive you," Someone said from the doorway. It was Kio.

\

Ritsuka gaped at him, "But-"

He was already hurt. If Seimei wanted to…he could order someone to kill Kio. The thought terrified Ritsuka. He never wanted to be the cause of someone's death…least of all the death of Soubi's only friend.

Kio's eyes were cold, "I'm not a member of this school, right? I shouldn't count."

"You just want revenge," Ritsu pointed out, "For something that wasn't your fault."

"Why does everyone tell me that?" Kio exploded, so loudly that even Soubi looked up. "I'll decide what is and isn't my fault, thank you very much!"

"You're another moron," Nagisa sneered. "Can you even drive with that hand?"

The artist half-smiled, "I'm ambidextrous."

"Smartass," muttered Nagisa.

Kio leaned close to whisper in Ritsuka's ear, "Soubi would be more reassured if I came with you."

Ritsuka thought it over. In as much as he hated to admit it, Kio may be right. Soubi was killing himself at being left behind. "Fine," He said curtly. "You can drive me there. But only part of the way."

"Ritsuka-" Kio began

"And nobody should follow us."

"You can send us a message," Nana tried.

"NO!" Ritsuka shouted. "Seimei said that he'll make anyone who comes with me disappear forever! Do you think I want that? Don't you think I know what that means?"

Ritsuka took several deep breaths. "Thank you for your concern," He said formally, "But there's no other way. It has to be me. _Only me_."

Kio nodded, "I understand. Let's go."

"Ritsuka," Soubi called out softly. "I am sorry. If it's not too much to ask…"

The Fighter stood in front of Ritsuka and knelt. He hugged Ritsuka so tightly that his breath was knocked out of him. "If it's not too much to ask…please, come back safe."

Ritsuka put his arms around Soubi. He loved the older man too much to give him the order to come with him.

But this was his fight.

It always had been.

Against Seimei…

"I will."

* * *

Nisei was walking aimlessly in the garden when he felt something smack him at the back of his head.

Instantly, the Beloved Fighter whipped around, searching for his assailant. There was nothing—not even the sense that someone as near.

Nisei stood still for a few minutes more. That was a mistake.

He heard a strange whir and then there it was again. Something had hit him in the back of the head while he wasn't looking!

It was impossible!

"Systems engage," He snarled. If someone was playing tricks on him, they would pay. "I declare a spell battle."

Nisei thought he heard someone laugh.

"Who's there?"

This time, when he heard the whir, he was prepared. He turned and plucked something out of the air—a plane?

How did…

"Hey, let go of that," commanded the younger Ritsuka. He was standing on the balcony above Nisei, the controls to the plane in his hands. That explained why Nisei didn't see him at once. "I was playing."

"You," Said Nisei. "You hit me with this?" He shook the plane at the younger Ritsuka.

"Don't shake it! You might destroy it."

"I don't care."

"Seimei won't be pleased," The younger Ritsuka sang out. "He'll punish you."

"I'd prefer that."

"You don't mean that," The younger Ritsuka stated with an annoying smile. "My Aniki's worse than I am. He can do it, you know. He can rip your wings off."

"My wings?"

"He called you a bird."

Nisei's fingers tightened on the plane.

"Now will you let my plane go? Seimei said that I can do whatever I want with you."

The Fighter released the plane. As it dipped and bobbed in the evening sky, Nisei perceived that this younger Ritsuka was different from the other Ritsuka.

And not all the differences were good.

* * *

**A/N**: We really are nearing the end.

The younger Ritsuka's darker side is explored a bit in this chapter. As the older (future) Ritsuka has his moods, the younger Ritsuka also shows some signs of his constant exposure to Seimei.

About Seimei...I emphatically believe that he is not crazy.

I also believe that Ritsu is quite emotionally distant, but he's not a heartless bastard.

Kio's such a softy about the younger Ritsuka... *sighs*

And Ritsuka's "punishment" to Nisei...i think that he deserves it.

To those who reviewed: Thank you! *kowtows*

_**CynthiaDollar**_: Would you pay for my round-fare ticket for that hug? Haha! I live in Asia! I have a passport, and I can get a visa... *babbles on*Unless you want me to FedEx Ritsuka's ears. * laughs *

Soubi gave me a LOT of trouble with this chapter! That's partly why it took sooo long...because I was trying to keep them in character. And I'm not sure if Soubi could defy Seimei, even if he tried. I hope that I captured his struggle, though.

_**Roman Juliet**_: Kya! Older Ritsuka is on his way, with his chauffeur Kaidou Kio. * laughs * And no, I'm not sure if Kio is really ambidextrous. He may have just said that to annoy Nagisa-tan. He's stubborn about Touji, isn't he? The younger Ritsuka's still pretty miffed at the older Ritsuka, though.

_**VeelaSophia**_: A new reviewer! Welcome to the wonderfully insane world of Mnemosyne. I didn't think that anyone who only watched the anime would review, because I've included a lot of references to the manga. Thank you for your enthusiastic words. I hope that you can follow the story all the way to the end!

To my beta, _**CheyWolfe**_:

This chapter would never have been put up without you. Thank you for a job well comments are much loved! I hope that you feel better.

_**To Everyone who had read up to this point:**_

Reviews are better than giving chocolate or cookies. They are very healthy and can be given for free. * laughs * Please clicky! I value your input, and **I ALWAYS thank my reviewers in the next chapter. **

For those who want to follow the story, there's the story alert. Clicky?


	9. Bravery, in Different Facets

A/N: YAY! Loveless Manga is FINALLY being updated. Arigato, Yun Kouga-sama!

And, and, and-on another note, xxxolic has come to an end! it's rather abrupt and...i wanna push those clamp ladies to write more!

discovering durarara! I love the 2nd opening theme. *squeeeee*

Oh, yeah, right, the ninth chapter... *smacks herself*

* * *

~Mnemosyne Nine~

"Where to, Ritsuka?"

"Beika University," The older Ritsuka replied.

Kio nodded, "We'll be there in a couple of hours."

There was no need to ask if Kio was alright, though the question was burning on Ritsuka's lips. Kio's jaw was set. It was obvious that he still blamed himself.

They'd left five minutes ago, departing with the other's worried stares. Ritsuka still felt slightly guilty at leaving Soubi behind.

But they'd taken someone else with them.

"Ne, can we stop for dinner?" Youji asked from the back seat. "We can't fight on an empty stomach, you know."

"You're not going to do any fighting," Ritsuka said sharply.

The Zero pair had insisted on coming along. The older Ritsuka didn't want them to come, but Youji had only laughed and said that they couldn't leave the rescue of Chibi to someone like him.

"Someone like me?" He'd snapped then.

Youji had poked his nose, "Moron. Chibi ran away from you. D'you think that he'd be overjoyed to see you?"

That argument had effectively weakened Ritsuka's willpower to stop them. It didn't help that Soubi looked hurt when Nagisa wholeheartedly agreed to send her Zeros with Ritsuka.

"We can go to a drive-through," Suggested Natsuo.

"Is food all you think about?" Kio snarled.

Youji was unperturbed, "We're hungry. Besides, there will be a fight. We need to finish last time's spell battle."

"We nearly had Seimei," Natsuo agreed. "He didn't have his Fighter. I don't think something like that will come up again."

"I said you're not fighting," Repeated Ritsuka.

"Tch. You can't order us around—you're not Nagisa-sensei," Youji said, stretching his arms around his head.

"I'll throw you out, I swear I will," Kio threatened.

"That's fine," Laughed Natsuo. "We know where you're headed now. Beika University, right?"

Ritsuka and Kio exchanged a look. Obviously there was no way to change the Zero's mind, short of losing their sanity.

"Can I ask you something, Ritsuka?" Kio said, staring at the road.

Ritsuka was apprehensive, "That depends."

"It's not much, I promise," Kio took a deep breath. "Why didn't you take Sou-chan? He wanted to, didn't he?"

"He couldn't," Natsuo answered from the back seat. "Seimei ordered him not to."

Kio looked as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Just that?"

"You know that Soubi obeys any order Seimei gives him," Ritsuka reminded Kio. Ritsuka's throat was tight, thinking what Soubi must be going through at this very minute.

"Yes," Kio agreed. "I do."

* * *

_Great_, the younger Ritsuka thought. _Now it's stuck in a tree_.

He fiddled with the controls again. He'd spent the past half hour playing with his plane, and had accidentally flown it into a tree. He supposed he could climb it, but it was far too dark outside for him to see where it really was. He could hear it rustling every time he tried to make it go down, but that was all.

He'd even gotten back into the house to try to pluck it out of the window it was closest to, but even with his arms fully extended, he couldn't reach it.

He didn't want to wait until morning. What if it rained?

He was just thinking about fetching a flashlight anyway when he sensed someone behind him. He turned. "Kio?"

The person behind him smiled, "Hello, Ritsuka."

The younger Ritsuka ran to him, "How did you get here? Did Aniki get you too? Why didn't I see you? Are you badly hurt?"

The person knelt so they were eye level, "I'm sorry; I'm not Kio Kaidou."

"But…you look like him." It was true. The person had glasses and blond hair, with Kio's eyes. Though now that the younger Ritsuka knew, he could see that this person was a girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chouma."

"Ano…Are you Kio's sister?"

"Yes. I am his younger sister," She smiled and offered him a Chupa chup. "Want one?"

The younger Ritsuka suddenly remembered his plane. "Hey, can you help me?" Before she could answer, he took her hand and dragged her over to the window, "Can you get my plane?"

Chouma looked at the plane, barely visible though the treetop. The younger Ritsuka waited.

"I can get it," she said finally. "Wait here."

The younger Ritsuka expected her to climb out the window and into the tree, but he was mistaken. Instead, she said, "_Wind, part the leaves_."

Around the tree, a cold wind began to blow stronger and stronger. Ritsuka's toy began to rock backwards and forwards, pitching for freedom. The younger Ritsuka stared at Chouma with his mouth wide open.

_She said a spell!_ Realized the younger Ritsuka, awed.

"Your plane is going to fall and smash if you don't control it, Ritsuka, "Chouma told him. It was almost free of the remaining twigs.

"Oh! Yes," The younger Ritsuka fumbled with the remote. After a few seconds, the plane flew through the window and into the younger Ritsuka's arms. "You know who I really am?"

"Yes. I joined Seimei last year. Speaking of which…he wants you back in your room."

But the younger Ritsuka wouldn't be distracted, "You're a Fighter?"

"I am—but I haven't met my Sacrifice yet." Chouma patted his head, "Like you haven't met your Fighter yet."

"But the other me is fine with Soubi as his Fighter," Interjected the younger Ritsuka. The two began the walk back to Seimei's room.

"Seimei isn't," Chouma said.

The younger Ritsuka nodded. "I think I know that," He mused. "He…he wants me to be his Fighter?"

"Are you afraid?" Chouma inquired.

The younger Ritsuka looked at her incredulously. "No. Why would I be? Aniki loves me," He saw that Chouma had longer hair than he'd thought. It was braided down her back like Rapunzel's. "Ne-you have really nice hair. Does Kio—I mean your brother—know you're here? Is he okay? Nisei hurt him, you know."

Chouma stopped, "Nisei did?"

"Yeah," The younger Ritsuka said, shuddering at the memory. "Nisei shot at his hand and hit him in the head. Hey—!"

There was a vibration in the air, making Ritsuka's ears hurt. It made his heart throb, and now he remembered that it was what he felt when he knew there was a very strong spell coming.

It was the same thing he felt when he…that dream, with Divided…

He dropped his plane, and clapped his hands over his cat ears. "What's happening?"

Instantly, it ceased. "I'm so sorry, Ritsuka," Chouma said, calmer now. "I lost control for a minute there." She stroked Ritsuka's hands gently, "I'm sorry."

The younger Ritsuka sniffled and picked up his plane. "It's okay," He mumbled. "If Aniki wants me to be his Fighter I have to be braver…and stronger."

"So you accept it?" Chouma whispered. "You…would accept being Seimei's Fighter?"

"He wants me," Ritsuka replied. "I will, since he asked me to."

Despite agreeing with Seimei about giving bonded pairs the freedom to choose their partners, Chouma couldn't comprehend how someone could agree to change so much for one person. "But…you're a Sacrifice. How can a Sacrifice learn to be a Sentouki?"

"Seimei will find a way," The younger Ritsuka assured her serenely.

She stared down at the child with pity and despair. She did not have the means to oppose Seimei. She always knew that Seimei was a twisted person, and could bend other people to his will.

But, this child…? This was Seimei's own little brother. His blood.

"Come on, Chouma," Said the younger Ritsuka, tugging on her hand. "Aniki hates it when I'm late."

* * *

Soubi was determined to wait up all night for Ritsuka. If he could not be with him…this was really all he could do.

The other members of the Seven Moons were who knows where. Soubi didn't care. He kept his phone in his hands, glancing at it every few seconds, as if by the sheer power of his gaze he could make the older Ritsuka call. However, he knew that Ritsuka wouldn't.

How he envied the Zeros now! At least they were together; free to pursue whatever plan of action they wished.

"Seimei, don't hurt Ritsuka," He prayed. If there was Someone up there listening…"Ritsuka, please be safe," He added for a good measure.

And he envied Kio as well. He knew that his friend had volunteered to drive Ritsuka because it would ease Soubi's mind. Kio bore the typical guilt of a witness, but at least he could go to the younger Ritsuka.

Soubi had been trained to be the strongest Fighter. He laughed, the bitter taste of irony strong on his tongue. The strongest! What a joke!

He was not strong enough to bear it if something happened to Ritsuka.

He could not help it—some mechanical part of his mind listed a few of the possibilities that might happen. What could be the worst thing?

That he would never see Ritsuka again?

That Ritsuka would be Seimei's Fighter?

That Soubi would be left, alone as he always was…

That Kio would be killed at Seimei's hands…

_Stop_, Soubi pleaded himself. _Stop_.

He knew he was torturing himself.

Soubi became conscious of one fact: that he was as concerned for the younger Ritsuka as the older Ritsuka. There was no more "my" Ritsuka in his mind—somewhere the lines separating the past Ritsuka and the present Ritsuka had become blurred, until they disappeared completely.

One person, his mind insisted. The past and present-they were one person.

The one person that he must protect.

Should protect.

Should have protected.

Soubi gazed at impossible distances. At this rate, he really wouldn't be able to sleep.

The mind is a funny thing, and it does strange things to preserve itself. But at that moment Soubi believed that the worst thing that could happen was for someone to find out that he had come to love the past Ritsuka as much as he loved the present one.

* * *

Seimei thanked Chouma quite cordially when she deposited Ritsuka outside his room.

"Aniki!" Ritsuka said with a huge grin. "I explored the house."

Seimei smiled back, "I know. Did you have a good time?"

The younger Ritsuka nodded enthusiastically, "I want to explore more tomorrow—in daylight. I almost lost my plane in a tree, but Chouma helped me."

"Is that so?" Seimei nodded at Chouma. "Thank you, Chouma."

"It was nothing," Chouma murmured. "Good night." With that, Kaidou Chouma left.

"Ritsuka, it's time to sleep," Seimei said sternly. "You ought to change your clothes."

The younger Ritsuka was seated in front of Seimei's computer. "I'm not sleepy, Aniki."

"Ritsuka…"

"One game?" whined the younger Ritsuka.

It might actually distract the younger Ritsuka, Seimei reflected. He was expecting the older Ritsuka soon.

He did not want the younger Ritsuka to realize that the older Ritsuka was coming to rescue him.

"Very well," Seimei said. "I have something to check up on. Don't leave this room. I should be back in an hour."

The younger Ritsuka was already on the Wisdom Resurrection homepage. "Uh-huh."

With a secret smile, Seimei kissed his brother's cheek, "Soon, Ritsuka. We'll be bonded."

* * *

"Soubi!"

Soubi heard the door pounding. He did not answer, loathing even the thought of contact with Ritsu.

"Soubi, it's me, Nana. Please open the door! It's about the younger Ritsuka."

In an instant, Soubi was pulling the door open, so swiftly that Nana jumped. "What is it?"

"He's online, Soubi. Loveless."

"Where?"

"In the control—"

Soubi was past her, running towards the direction Nana came from.

Soubi arrived at the control room to see Nagisa and Ritsu already there. He scowled his distaste at the company he was in.

"What's with that expression?" Snapped Nagisa.

"What level is he?" Soubi asked, ignoring Nagisa's question.

"Level ninety eight," Ritsu said. "He went online an hour ago."

"Does he know about…the other Ritsuka? Have they met yet?"

"I don't think so," Nana answered, entering the room again. "Although the older Ritsuka should be there by now. Chat is enabled at level one hundred."

"Already? He's at level ninety eight?" Nagisa repeated. "I thought it was impossible to get to level ninety in less than two hours."

Nana clicked on a few buttons, projecting the little swordsman icon that **Loveless** was using on the screen. "I don't know how he did it, either."

"He said that he was better at videogames than Seimei," Soubi remarked. He saw that **Loveless** was defeating more enemies faster than anyone he'd ever seen. "How did he know to use that name?"

"He couldn't have entered Wisdom Resurrection any other way," Ritsu said.

"Is Beloved online, as well?"

"No," replied Nana, relieved. "The younger Ritsuka must be using Seimei's computer. They can't enter at the same time."

"How do we know that it's the younger Ritsuka?" inquired Nagisa doubtfully. "If the older Ritsuka was already there…"

"No, it's the other one," Nana confirmed. "He's faster at fighting, and he entered the game when the older Ritsuka was still leaving Seven Moons."

Soubi watched as Loveless cleared level ninety eight and moved on to level ninety nine. "At this rate he'll be in the chatroom in fifteen minutes."

"We'll be ready," Nana said confidently.

* * *

"This is great!" Chirped the younger Ritsuka, feeling quite proud of himself. He was entering level one hundred. Wisdom Resurrection had three stages, each with a hundred levels.

He came to a room with a well. He moved his icon around, thinking to unlock a secret level, when there was a shower of gold on the screen.

**Chat enabled. **

**Seventh Fairy**: _Welcome, Loveless_.

**Loveless**: _Hello. _

**Seventh Fairy**: _Congratulations on making it this far. You've done it very quickly._

**Loveless**: _Did I beat any records?_

**Seventh Fairy**: _You're the quickest out of all the players here._

* * *

Soubi and the others watched **Loveless** do a series of celebratory jumps.

**Loveless**: _That's great! Do I get a special weapon?_

Nana hesitated. "What do I do?" She asked the others. "Loveless…I mean, Ritsuka's here."

"Ask him a few questions first," Ritsu suggested.

Nana typed obediently.

**Seventh Fairy**: _Before I do that, can you tell me more about the place that you're in?_

**Loveless**:…

**Loveless**: _I'm with my big brother. Why does it matter?_

"Smart kid," Nagisa admitted. "He won't talk to strangers easily."

Nana agreed, "Will he tell us where he is if he knew who we are? Soubi, you're the one that knows him best."

Soubi flinched under their collective gaze, "I…don't know."

**Loveless**: ?

**Seventh Fairy**: _Is your brother there with you?_

**Loveless**: _He went out for a second._

Ritsu nodded in satisfaction when Nagisa read the words aloud. "Nana, tell him. Quickly."

**Seventh Fairy**_: Loveless, I'm Nana from the Seven Moon Academy. Can you tell us where you are so we can rescue you?_

They held their breath as they waited for a reply. One minute, two minutes. The Loveless icon remained motionless. Then:

**Loveless**: _Whoever said I **wanted** to be rescued?_

* * *

/

/

/

* * *

"Stop here."

Reluctantly, Kio stopped the car right in front of Beika University, "Are you sure?"

"YES!" the older Ritsuka replied. "Just go back to the Seven Moons. Don't look back, either."

"But Natsuo and Youji—"

"We can take care of ourselves," Youji told Kio. The Zero pair got off the car as well.

The college student's mouth gave way to a frown, "I'm just being concerned."

"It doesn't concern you," Natsuo informed him with a cold smile.

Ritsuka nodded.

Kio huffed, "Fine, I'm just your damned chauffeur, right? That's all I'm good for. Right." He took a few more calming breaths.

Zero was ready to leave him there like that, but Ritsuka stayed, unwilling to give Kio an opportunity to see which direction they were going to take.

"Kio? I'm sorry. I know you want to help, but…"

Kio had his face buried in his crossed arms, resting on the steering wheel. "I know. I've done all I could. I wish—" Ritsuka heard him sigh. "I have a daughter," Kio whispered, still not facing them. "She's his age. When you come back…I'll introduce Touji to her. I think they'll get along since they're both insufferable brats," He laughed humorlessly. "So make sure you come back with him, eh, Ritsuka?"

The older Ritsuka was blank for a second. _Kio has a daughter_? He thought, shocked. If the math was right, Kio was twenty, and Touji was nine. If Kio had a child, then-

He blocked the thoughts off. They would have time to talk later.

It was kindness and cruelty to offer him hopes. Hopes that Seimei would ever let the younger Ritsuka go. Despite this, Ritsuka chose to do so, "I think Touji'll enjoy that as well."

* * *

"I thought you were going to give him a kiss goodbye," Snickered Youji.

"Leave me alone," Murmured the older Ritsuka. "Seimei shouldn't see you."

"It's a good thing we brought a flashlight," said Natsuo, completely ignoring Ritsuka. "It's so dark. Don't try to run away, either. We can follow you."

"Ne…Ritsuka, where did Seimei tell you—"

Ritsuka knocked the flashlight off Natsuo's hand, "Stop following me! Leave me alone! I have to meet him by myself!"

"You stop it," Youji said menacingly. "We don't follow your rules, Ritsuka."

"Why are you so desperate to rescue him?" Cried the older Ritsuka.

"Because he's you, Ritsuka," Natsuo pointed out. "Chibi's always been an outsider. You treated him like he wasn't a part of you. Now that he's gone away, it's like you're just easing your guilt by rescuing him. Well? Are you?"

The older Ritsuka was dumbstruck, "I—"

"Are you?" Natsuo persisted.

"Keep walking," Youji pushed Ritsuka in front of them. "You're the only one that knows where to go. You can have the flashlight. When we sense Seimei near, we'll go."

Ritsuka found his voice at last. "Go where?"

"Who knows? We'll scout the area. You can't stop us anyway, so it'll just be a waste of breath to try," Youji pushed him again. "Walk, Ritsuka. Chibi's waiting."

* * *

Soubi gazed at the words on the screen, "He…doesn't want us to rescue him? Why?"

**Seventh Fairy**: _Why don't you want to be rescued?_

**Loveless**: _Aniki will not harm me. He loves me. He lets me do what I want, not like the others. _

Each word was a blow to Soubi's heart. Had they done this? Pushed and pushed the younger Ritsuka away, intent on the mystery of WHY he was here, instead of getting to know him?

They'd never made him feel like he was wanted…

Like he was a burden. A problem.

That was how Seimei lured him in. Seimei must have told the younger Ritsuka words of love—love that Soubi had selfishly heaped on the current Ritsuka and not the past one.

Loveless was typing more.

**Loveless**: _If I wanted to be rescued, I would have told Soubi-san. I know how to. But I know that he didn't want me there._

**Seventh Fairy**: _He does._

**Loveless**: _Liar._

Four letters, burning like a brand. Nana's face was filled with a terrible sadness. "Soubi, Ritsuka…what did you do to this child?"

* * *

**Seventh Fairy**: _We do want you back. The older Loveless is coming to rescue you._

**Loveless**: _WHAT?_

The younger Ritsuka gawked at the LCD. The older him was…coming? Here?

No! He mustn't!

Seimei…he knew! That was why…

Aniki must have told the older Ritsuka to come. But that…the younger Ritsuka could not allow that to happen.

**Loveless**: _NO! Tell him to come!_

**Seventh Fairy**: _He's already gone._

**Loveless**: _Call him! He should not come here._

**Seventh Fairy**: _Why?_

**Loveless**: _Because then Seimei…._

**Loveless**: ….

**Loveless**: _Seimei would take us both away and disappear!_

* * *

"Disappear?" Nagisa repeated. "NO! After all we've done to track him?"

**Seventh Fairy**: _What do you mean, Loveless?_

**Loveless**: _After Seimei gets what he wants from people, he leaves them. ALWAYS._

Nana glanced at Soubi.

**Seventh Fairy**: _Did he tell you that?_

**Loveless**: _No. I don't need him to tell me because I know him._

**Seventh Fairy**: _Zero is with him._

**Loveless**: _He'll kill them, then._

Nagisa shot up, "That's impossible! Seimei's just a Sacrifice. How can he kill my Zeroes?"

**Loveless**: _Please…_

**Loveless**: _Tell them to leave me._

**Loveless**: _Tell them to come back._

**Loveless**: _And forget about me._

**Loveless**: _I don't want anyone else to be hurt because of me and Seimei._

**Loveless**: _Please._

* * *

"He's here," Youji whispered.

"Who?"

The Zero pair did not reply. As one, they vanished into the night, leaving Ritsuka with the flashlight. He was stumped for a few seconds until he realized that they could only mean that Seimei was near.

Despite everything, Ritsuka shivered at the thought of meeting his big brother at last. Soubi—he wanted Soubi here with him. He'd come to depend on his Sentouki so much.

Mechanically, he moved his legs forward, taking one step after the other.

Towards Seimei.

And towards his past.

It was nearly midnight, and it felt like he'd been walking forever after Zero had left him. Suddenly a voice to his left made him jump so badly that he dropped the flashlight.

"Ritsuka. Welcome."

"Aniki?"

Seimei stepped into his line of vision, smiling. He picked up Ritsuka's flashlight. "Of course. Who else could it be?"

"S-Sorry. I thought, Nisei—"

His Aniki's smile vanished. "I know. The younger you told me that he scared you pretty badly," Seimei pulled him into his arms. "I assure you that he will be punished."

"The other me?"

Seimei released him, "He's playing games at my computer at the moment."

"Playing games?" Ritsuka repeated.

"Yes. Does that surprise you? That he did not even think to call you or Soubi?"

The older Ritsuka could not reply. How many times had it been this night that he had been shocked into silence?

Moonlight glinted off Seimei's midnight purple eyes, captivating Ritsuka, though he tried to resist.

"Would that convince you that I mean you no harm? I love you dearly, Ritsuka. Both of you. No matter which time you came from. The younger Ritsuka is not scared of me. Would you not trust me, Ritsuka?"

"I want to see him," Ritsuka demanded.

"And so you shall," Seimei agreed. "In the morning."

Seimei reached out to him and pressed a cloth to his mouth. Ritsuka gasped instinctively, the heady scent of chloroform hitting him like a punch.

**_Soubi!_**

* * *

Almost a hundred miles away, Soubi suddenly straightened, startled.

"Soubi? What is it?" Nana asked him. **Loveless** had logged off shortly after that conversation, not even waiting for the **Seventh Fairy**'s reply.

"Ritsuka. He called for me."

"The older or the younger one?"

Soubi was devastated. His pride as a Fighter, his love for Ritsuka, his sense of duty all crumbling to dust at his feet, he admitted brokenly, "I don't know."

* * *

Kio roared to a stop outside Seven Moons Academy. The gates, which had been closed to him only this morning, were now wide open.

The trip back took longer than he expected. It was now three in the morning, and yet he wasn't surprised to see Ritsu, Nagisa, Nana and Soubi come running out to meet him.

"Kio!"

Kio's hands fell away from the steering wheel. His wound had reopened, and there was blood all over it.

Soubi supported him to Nagisa's clinic. Nagisa was hissing like an angry tea-kettle about her patients never caring about the states they were in, all the while jabbing antiseptic to Kio's hand.

"Kio, are you all right?" Soubi repeated. He had been asking this question since his friend had gotten back. Kio hadn't answered, his white lips betraying the pain that he had been through in making the journey back alone.

"Where did you drive them?" Ritsu asked.

"B-B-Beika," Stammered Kio. "We…The Beika University. Soubi, please…"

Soubi waited, feeling as if he was made of marble.

"Please rescue them."

The Sentouki was surprised at how quickly the answer came to his lips. As if, at the back of his mind, he had been making this decision all along. "I will go there in the morning."

At once, the old pain opened the wounds at his neck. Of course—he was doing to defy Seimei's orders. They would bleed the whole way, mile after weary mile.

But this time he welcomed it.

The pain—

For once, it felt like he was finally being brave.

He'd spent so much time running away from Seimei, like a person who'd been burnt once and was not eager to repeat the experience.

His heart sang with joy even as the letters of "Beloved" continued to seep blood down his neck.

"Ritsuka…"

_I'm coming. _

And the tears of joy rolled down his cheeks.

* * *

The older Ritsuka woke abruptly, at first not understanding where he was. Then, slowly, memory returned.

_Beika. I'm at Beika University. Seimei…_

Seimei, lunging at him in the darkness, knocking him out—

_Seimei drugged me!_

It was morning. The older Ritsuka grasped that he had slept the rest of the night that he came here.

But…the younger Ritsuka.

Where was he?

He was on a bed. The little clock on the table told him that it was shortly after nine. There was a breakfast tray there—eggs, toast, milk. A couple of sausages. An apple.

He ate quickly. He was starving.

The sliding door opened. Ritsuka tensed, expecting an enemy. Or Seimei.

But the person who entered was nothing of the sort. His eyes widened at the resemblance.

The girl at the door smiled. "Good morning, Ritsuka. Before you mistake me for my brother, I am Kaidou Chouma. I'm glad you finished your breakfast."

Ritsuka could not even begin to understand why she was here. Did Kio know about this? "What?"

"Do you find it hard to believe that Kio would have a sister who is a Fighter?"

The older Ritsuka nodded slowly. Was she a threat? He'd been taken off guard by her appearance…

"We must go quickly," Chouma added. "I think the Seven Moons Academy set fire to Chiyako-sensei's grounds."

"Fire?" he repeated dumbly. Now that he was not so busy eating, he could detect the faint smell of smoke in the house. Or was it a house that they were in? His mind still felt groggy and unfocused.

"Yes."

"But…"

"Come with me!" Chouma repeated urgently.

"I can't go with you!" the older Ritsuka said, suddenly remembering something. "The younger Ritsuka-"

"He's with Seimei. I think. "

"You think?" shouted the older Ritsuka. "The younger me is deathly scared of fire! It paralyzes him…If he sees it, he won't be able to move! We have to find him!"

* * *

~Fin~

And that's it for the ninth chapter of mnemosyne.

Here, now. I actually don't know Nana (Seven) 's wisdom resurrection name. I don't remember...but "seventh fairy" is as close as a guess that i can 't throw pink confetti at me as punishment, i will melt and i won't be able to write anymore.

More people reviewed the last chapter! I am soooo happy. Thank you! Here are their few lines of mnemosyne fame:

_**VeelaSophia**_: Try starting the manga from volume 5. that's when the anime ends, and the anime does more or less follow the manga line. as of now my preferred manga site is mangafox. ^^ thank you for the review. i hope the references didn't stop you from enjoying the fic fully.

**_RomanJuliet:_** we're getting close to the end! i swear that the younger Ritsuka is developing a mind of his own...i never meant for him to be that complex. *weeps waterfalls* and i love playing around with seimei's character too! though he's quite difficult sometimes...

**_Promocat:_** i think i agree that ritsuka lost a lot of his "darkness" when he lost his memories. maybe it was actually a good thing that he lost his memories...in a way...because the way things stand now, the past him is really willing to be Seimei's Fighter at the expense of changing the past Ritsuka's DNA...

**_Krissy:_** (i'm not sure if you'll be able to read this because i'm not sure if you have an account here) but, WELCOME! Another first-time reviewer. I was so honored when you said that this was the first loveless fanfic you read after the anime. I hope you'll enjoy the remaining bit of the mnemosyne rippin' ride i'm planning to give you and all my readers.

_**JumpingJelloDinosaurs-Rawr**_: (I sure hope i got your name right-LOL) Konnichiwa! why toast? haha! just kidding. here is the ninth! I hope you didn't destroy any toasters while waiting for this. ^^

To my beta, _**CheyWolfe: (go forth and read her stories as well!)**_

Thank you for the bits of info! yes, Kaidou is the surname, and yes, Seimei's eye color was initially wrong until you told me so. You saved me!

~To the readers who only watched the anime and not the manga:

Here are the characters who are mine:

The younger Ritsuka

Merciless (Akira and Anita)

The big mastiff (chapter 4, i think)

Shinichi-kun (Chapter 3, i think)

And here are the characters from the manga who do not appear in the anime-which means they belong to Yun Kouga-sama:

Kaidou Chouma(yes, Kio really does have a sister)

Nana (Seven)

Akane Nisei

Chiyako-sensei

Kio's daughter (whose name is Shikiko, by the way.)

Thank you to those who added this to their favorites list (I'm quite literally awed) and their alerts list. If you still haven't please do so! I still have a few surprises up my sleeve, mnemosyne-wise, and i want YOU, dear reader, to be the first to know.

_**Please review**_! I have a rubber mallet that I will use to kill your big toe if you don't. *evil laughter* Plus, You'll see your name here when you do review. Ain't that lovely? *brandishes mallet*


	10. Seimei's Ritsuka, Soubi's Ritsuka

Disclaimer: I am not Yun Kouga. Yes, I am once again going to attempt to inject my own theories about the Loveless world...in particular, the real meaning of the name "loveless".

A/N: I know I took some time...I apologize! *kowtows in front of reader* Please enjoy a serving of "Mnemosyne" before you hunt me down with rusty forks.

* * *

~Mnemosyne Ten~

After the conversation with the Seventh Fairy, the younger Ritsuka deleted all the records showing that he'd ever played in Wisdom Resurrection. If Seimei were to find out that he talked to the Seven Moons, he might be prompted to attack them.

But the younger Ritsuka was sure that Seimei would never harm him, Ritsuka.

Then he'd lain in bed, determined to wait for Seimei to come back. He would demand for Aniki to tell him if the older Ritsuka was here and where he was. Then he'd talk to the older Ritsuka, he decided. If Seimei didn't know if the other Ritsuka was here, the younger Ritsuka would find him first. He'd warn the other Ritsuka to go, to go and not come back. He'd ask him how Kio was –he'd totally forgotten to ask the Seventh Fairy. Then…

The next thing he knew, it was morning. With a thrill of horror, he realized that he'd fallen asleep on Seimei's bed, that he hadn't even done one of the things on his mental list.

Had the other Ritsuka arrived?

Where was the other Ritsuka?

The younger Ritsuka jumped out of bed, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was shortly after seven in the morning.

What was he going to do? Seimei was not in the room.

Perhaps, he should explore the house to see if the other Ritsuka was here…

Panic was blurring his judgment, and he almost missed the note propped up on the keyboard of Seimei's computer. It had his name on it. "Ritsuka," he read.

_Ritsuka, _

_I'll be working on a few things before I go to breakfast, but I'll be in the house. If you want to see me, ask for the Archives. Anyone should be able to tell you where it is. Go to breakfast first. It's just off the hall. Take two left turns and a right to get to the hall. I love you, Ritsuka._

_Aniki_

The younger Ritsuka folded the note again. It said nothing at all about the other Ritsuka being here.

Sensing that there was nothing else he could do, he left Seimei's room. He took the correct amount of turns to get to the hall.

/

He could hear a lot of noise coming from the largest room off the hallway. More noise than if only Merciless and Chouma were here, and anyway, most of the voices he heard were male ones. Shyly, he shuffled into the room.

The room went silent when he entered. There was a lot of people here—he counted ten. A guy who looked a bit older than Seimei, an old woman, a couple of boys who looked around Ritsuka's age, the Merciless pair, Chouma, another young boy, younger even than Ritsuka, another young woman with glasses, and Nisei.

They were all staring. The younger Ritsuka stared back.

"So you're Seimei's little bro, huh?" said the guy who looked older than Seimei.

"You're quite famous, you know," said the young woman with glasses.

"Let him eat first, Yuina," Chouma said firmly. "Come here, Ritsuka. You can sit between Akira and me."

The younger Ritsuka climbed into the chair that Chouma offered him. Ten pairs of eyes followed his every move.

"So, I think you know Akira, Anita, Nisei and Chouma," said one of the boys who looked Ritsuka's age. He had brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. "I'll introduce the rest. I'm Makoto, and this is Charlie." He pointed to the boy beside him. "That's Kichirou," Makoto continued, pointing to the guy older than Seimei. "Chiyako-sensei-she owns this house, and she's a teacher at the University. The squirt is Toshiaki, but we call him Toshi. Last is Yuina."

"O…Ohayou." The younger Ritsuka stammered, overwhelmed. About half of them didn't have their ears anymore. He felt strange and awkward. "Ano, are you all Aniki's friends?"

Kichirou laughed. He had long blonde hair and gray eyes. "No, I don't think Seimei considers any of us his friend. We're merely working towards the same goal."

"The goal…the Fighter Unit," Acknowledged the younger Ritsuka.

"Are you hungry?" the old woman asked him with a smile. She put a fried egg on Ritsuka's plate and a couple of slices of bread. Then a banana. Then a glass of chocolate milk.

"Thank you…uhm, Chiyako-sensei."

"Don't worry about it. You're too thin, you need to eat."

"She thinks we're all fattening pigs," Charlie stage-whispered to the younger Ritsuka. Makoto and Charlie cracked up when Chiyako-sensei glared at them.

"Hush now, darlings, he'll think we're all insane," Yuina scolded them.

"News flash, Yuina: we are all insane," Akira informed Yuina, rolling her eyes.

"You're all alone in that boat, Akira-chan."

"Ah, shut up."

There was a fresh bout of laughter, except for Nisei, who didn't laugh. Everyone resumed eating, apparently over the surprise of the younger Ritsuka's appearance.

"Oh, Ritsuka dear, can you bring food to Seimei?" Chiyako sensei added, piling still more food onto a plate. "He never eats with us, but I think he'll take food from you. He's been in the archives since this morning."

The younger Ritsuka swallowed a bit of bread, "Where is it?"

"The attic," Toshi replied. "Just pick any staircase and go straight up."

"I'll help you carry the tray," Sighed Chouma. Chiyako-sensei was putting a cup of rice, a couple of small fried fish, eggs, a pot of coffee, two containers of what the younger Ritsuka guessed was cream and sugar, and several more slices of bread onto a tray.

"I don't think Aniki can eat that much," Commented the younger Ritsuka.

"Oh, he'll eat it all if it came from you," Anita assured him. "He's been telling us about you for a long time now."

"Yeah, you're like a celebrity," smirked Nisei.

"Shut up, Akane, you're ruining the mood," Yuina declared.

* * *

As she promised, Chouma did help him with the tray, so that all the younger Ritsuka had to do was to carry the coffee pot.

He was thinking hard as Chouma led him up two flights of stairs. Finally he asked, "Do they know?"

"Know what?"

"About the…that there's two of me."

"No. Only Nisei, Merciless and I know about the two Ritsukas."

"they seem…nice. The others, I mean."

"Not all of them are," Chouma said. "There's a pair called "Bloodless", Hideki and Yurio. They're dangerous. There are a few more pairs outside Chiyako-sensei's house, too."

"Are they all fighters?"

"A couple of them. Kichirou and Charlie make up the pair 'Eternal'. Akira and Anita, of course. Toshi is Chiyako-sensei's grandson. His parents were a Fighter Unit who died in a spell battle. Aside from being a Fighter, Charlie's also a hacking genius. Makoto's family owns one of the largest pharmaceuticals in the world. Akira's a doctor in genetics, and Chiyako-sensei is her professor. Anita's going to college next year, to study the relationships between a Fighter Unit. Let's see, have I left anyone else out?"

"Nisei," he supplied. They were almost at the attic.

Her face darkened, "Nisei is Seimei's Fighter. That's all we know."

The younger Ritsuka paused, "Chouma, I need your help with something."

* * *

"I brought you breakfast, Aniki!"

Seimei looked up from the computer with a smile. The younger Ritsuka didn't knock, of course. He never did.

"Have you eaten?" Seimei asked affectionately, patting his lap as an offering to the younger Ritsuka. With a delighted yelp, the younger Ritsuka sat in his lap and began to spin the swiveling chair around.

"Everything's a toy to you, isn't it?" Seimei said with a laugh. He took the coffee-pot from his brother and set it on the table.

Kaidou Chouma was also in the doorway, carrying a tray of food. She set it down on a table and walked off without another word.

Seimei watched as his younger brother stopped spinning and followed Chouma's retreat with his eyes. "You like her, don't you?" He asked finally.

"I like her," The younger Ritsuka said with a shrug, "but I love you."

This time Seimei embraced him from behind and bent over him, as if he meant to protect him from everything that was evil in this world. "I love you, too. How would you like to celebrate your birthday?"

"My…birthday?" The younger Ritsuka was stumped.

"By your time, isn't tomorrow your birthday, Ritsuka? I know you left there a week before your tenth birthday. We should celebrate it, don't you think?"

Tears welled in the younger Ritsuka's eyes. "You…you remembered," He whispered. "You did…"

"Why are you crying?" Tenderly, Seimei wiped the tears from his eyes.

Chibi blushed. "Because I'm happy!" He admitted.

Seimei laughed, "I know you love celebrating your birthdays. It's okay to have it even if it is almost the end of September."

"Then I'll have two birthdays, right? I'll have another one in December." Then Chibi frowned. "Does that mean I'll be ten then eleven in the same year?"

"I guess so."

The younger Ritsuka wriggled out of his grasp. He looked directly into Seimei's eyes and said quite casually, "Can we play a game of Twenty? If I win…you should leave the other me alone. Completely. And you should leave Soubi-san out of it, too."

* * *

His mood shifted instantly. Seimei stiffened. The younger Ritsuka _knew_. He knew everything. How he knew, Seimei couldn't begin to guess. Seimei didn't even know how much he knew.

He could find out.

"Are you prepared to bet on that?" he whispered. "Because if I win, you will allow me to kill Soubi."

The younger Ritsuka shot away from him with a gasp, as he suddenly discovered Seimei ablaze, "NO! NO! NO! I won't let you kill anyone!"

"But I already have. One more shouldn't make any difference."

The younger Ritsuka was weeping. Seimei understood that perfectly. Someone as pure and as innocent as his baby brother could not stand to hear about violence, let alone risk it being done.

"Are you willing?" Seimei repeated.

How he loved his baby brother. He knew it from the first time that he saw Ritsuka that here, at last, was something that belonged to him and him alone. Always, and forever.

If he had to hurt Ritsuka in the process of being his Fighter—the strongest, then so be it.

The younger Ritsuka hiccuped, and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. He seemed tired, and older than his nine years. A life was depending on him. "I am."

* * *

When he was seven, Chibi discovered the first thing that he could do better than Aniki: something scary, yes, but wonderful too.

It was the discovery that he could retreat within himself—like resting inside his head, but his body limp and his eyes blank—and keep his feelings away.

He'd been bullied a few times in the first grade, but Seimei beat those boys up so badly that BOTH Aoyagi brothers were called to the Principal's office. Seimei had hugged him afterwards and said that it was not Ritsuka's fault, that if anything the bullies deserved more than two weeks in the hospital. However, the younger Ritsuka vowed never to let it happen again.

He wasn't much of a fighter, so one day, when he was in second grade, he simply decided to ignore the bullies, and act as if…as if he didn't feel anything. It made him feel strange afterward—like a deflated balloon, but everyone who had actually seen it became scared of him. Osamu later told him that it was because it was Ritsuka looked so empty and not his usual self.

"It's like you're disappearing into yourself, Ritsuka," Were his friend's exact words. "Like you didn't recognize anything and anyone, and you didn't know who we were, and you could do anything at all. But you didn't seem to recognize good from evil anymore."

Good and evil, that was what Osamu said.

Like he was being Loveless.

Sometimes, he was scared of this ability, because there might be a time when he couldn't come back to his normal self. If he tried to do it for very long, he might stay in that "Loveless" state forever. And then, because he had no emotions, nobody would love him too.

Still, right now it was what he needed. If he used it, he would win.

And so, trying to ignore the confines of Seimei's embrace, he drew several deep breaths. With each breath, he retreated deeper inside himself. There was a dim corner of his mind that screamed at him not to do it, not even for his future self and Soubi, because it would be so wrong to show Seimei that he could do this.

But he was too far gone now to care.

He heard himself speak: but it was funny to his ears, as if it was coming from a long distance. "Will I go first?"

"Yes," Seimei replied.

"I hate being here," Chibi intoned. His violet eyes were bottomless and frigid.

Seimei didn't sense Ritsuka's change, "I'm developing a drug that will change the structure of DNA from a Sacrifice to a Fighter."

"I called Mom last night and told her we would be coming home soon."

"I've hurt Soubi over and over again and do not regret it."

"My ankle still hurts."

"I think I should punish Nisei some more after what he's done to you."

"I want a cell phone."

"Kaidou Chouma has been my spy for years, even before she left the Seven Moons."

If Chibi had been himself, even Seimei's first statement would have gotten a reaction out of him. Playing Twenty with Aniki wasn't just a game; it always had something at stake. The younger Ritsuka's face never changed. "I want the future Ritsuka and Soubi to be happy."

"I'll destroy the Seven Moons for what they did to you, Ritsuka. No—we'll destroy them together."

"I still don't know what happened two years ago…why am I here."

"I chose to pretend to die by fire because I thought that it would make you remember who you were."

"I think that the stars were put in the sky to remind us of the souls of the people who died."

"I went traveling all over the world the past two years, studying briefly at the different Fighter schools."

"I already punished Nisei."

"The other Ritsuka is here in this house."

Quietly, the younger Ritsuka whispered, "I know."

* * *

Instantly, Seimei whipped his little brother around to take a good look at him. The younger Ritsuka let it happen.

There was no way that the younger Ritsuka wouldn't react to the other Ritsuka. When Seimei saw the younger Ritsuka's eyes, blank and not registering anything, he began to panic.

It was like that hellish week after Divided attacked Ritsuka—the countless hours by Ritsuka's bedside, waiting for him to wake up, not knowing how his brother would be when he finally did.

"RItsuka! Ritsuka!"

Was Chibi breathing? Yes, he was, but it was slow, measured, even, as if he were asleep. He didn't even respond to Seimei's calls.

"Ritsuka, the game's over. Come back to me," Seimei pleaded. He shook Ritsuka gently.

At that, the younger Ritsuka seemed to stir. The blankness in his eyes disappeared, to focus blearily on Seimei. The younger Ritsuka, upon seeing Seimei so scared, hugged his brother.

"Oh, Ritsuka. What happened? You…"

"I'm sorry," the younger Ritsuka said, buried in Seimei's shirt. "I'm sorry."

Seimei didn't say anything. He rocked the precious burden in his arms. Both of them were trembling.

A few moments passed.

"You better get some breakfast," The younger Ritsuka pointed out at last.

* * *

Seimei didn't want any breakfast. The panic was dissolving, to be replaced by excitement. The truth was beginning to dawn on him: that for the duration of the game, he'd seen Loveless.

The real Loveless.

For Seimei it was like seeing light after living so long in darkness—with Ritsuka's ability, they could defeat anyone they wished.

Of course! It made sense. Sans Amour-one without love. Loveless did not mean that no one loved him. It meant that Loveless could not love anyone back, could not love _anything_ back.

That disregard made him powerful, because there was nothing that could stop him—Loveless recognized no one. Nothing was valuable to Loveless, and so they could destroy the world and not care.

This was Loveless!

This was power.

This was the ability to grant others the freedom to choose!

"Aniki?" The younger Ritsuka was looking at him oddly.

"I'm not hungry," Seimei told him. "I'll just have some coffee-then, can you tell me what happened?"

The younger Ritsuka was cautious, "All right."

Seimei let the younger Ritsuka mess around with the computer, playing solitaire. He sipped his coffee, smiling. The drug to change DNA was nearly finished. In fact, the bulk of the plans for that drug were in this computer, the Archives. It was top secret. It was also the reason why they'd visited the Seven Moons a month ago-so that they could pick up their technology and their research.

The drug…

The drug…

Seimei dropped his cup. It smashed to pieces at his feet, but he hardly heard the crash.

The world was spinning, growing gray at the edges.

The drugs…

He'd been drugged.

"Ritsuka," He gasped, dropping to his knees.

He expected Ritsuka to rush to him, to panic as he had done. Instead, Seimei watched as Ritsuka only stared at him from the chair, a terrible sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry, Aniki," he heard the younger Ritsuka say. His tone did not indicate in any way that he was apologetic. "I have to win."

Seimei managed a word before he fell captive to unconsciousness, "Loveless…"

"Yes," Chibi agreed, coldly. "I am."

* * *

Chouma waited at the bottom of the stairs. She started to smile, "You sure took—"

Then she saw the expression on the younger Ritsuka's face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing's happened," Chibi replied. "It's done. I drugged his coffee and now he's asleep."

When Chibi first proposed this plan, Chouma had told him that he was crazy. No one had ever drugged Seimei and gotten away with it.

To which Chibi replied, "But that was because I wasn't the one doing it."

To think that drugging Seimei was only the first part of Chibi's plans.

"What now?"

"You found the Zero?"

"Yes. They're in your room."

It was crazy, so crazy that it was only Chibi who could pull it off. "The others have gone," She continued. "The others are in their own classes. Aside from you and me, only Seimei, the other you, Zero, and Nisei are here."

"That's good." Chibi smiled shyly. "I didn't want anyone else involved. Just stay out of his way when he wakes up, okay? He's going to think you had something to do with drugging him."

THAT sounded more like the Chibi she knew. She nodded.

"Now we have to talk to Nisei," continued the younger Ritsuka. He smiled again, a different kind of smile. Mischievous and scared all at once. A strange combination.

It was appropriate considering what he was about to do.

"And, Chouma?" he added when she walked away to watch over the other Ritsuka.

"Yes?"

"Protect the other Ritsuka, will you?"

* * *

Once he was away from Chouma, the younger Ritsuka staggered to the nearest wall and leaned against it. He slid down to the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps.

He'd drugged Seimei…his own brother.

And…

He noticed that it was harder to come back this time. It was more difficult to be himself again, like he was wading through hardening cement. He'd been terrified.

It was Aniki who brought him back. Then Ritsuka drugged him as a reward?

He put his face in his hands. He was screwing everything up.

"Chibi," Someone said.

The younger Ritsuka looked up to see Natsuo bending down to his eye level. Youji was behind Natsuo, and the Zero looked worried.

"What's happening to you?"

"Natsuo," Ritsuka said, his mouth trembling. "Oh, Natsuo!"

He threw himself into Natsuo with the force of a small hurricane, hugging the red-haired Sentouki. Shocked, Natsuo tumbled backward.

"Hey!"

Youji was there in an instant, trying to wedge Chibi off Natsuo, but Chibi was clinging on so tightly that Natsuo shook his head. Youji sighed and helped them up.

"Chibi, you're choking Natsuo," Youji said. It was then that they noticed that Chibi was shaking. "Chibi?"

"I'm sorry," They heard the younger Ritsuka mumble. "I'll be okay, just…wait. I drugged Aniki and…"

"You drugged Seimei?" Natsuo repeated in amazement. The Zero pair exchanged looks.

The younger Ritsuka nodded. "I'm scared," He whimpered. "I'm so scared."

The Zero pair softened. Even though they did not feel pain, they knew what fear was like.

Youji sighed. "Stupid," He conceded, patting the younger Ritsuka's head. "Weren't you the one that brought us here?"

They'd watched Chiyako-sensei's house since last night and made the right calls to the Seven Moons. They saw how the other Ritsuka was carried off by Seimei and knew where he was. They knew that Soubi was coming. Then, to their surprise, Chouma managed to find them and relay the message that the younger Ritsuka had a plan.

A plan to stop Seimei's research.

Still disbelieving, they came. How can _anyone_ stop Seimei?

But here was Chibi, saying that he'd successfully drugged Seimei. It was unbelievable, and a feat that they weren't sure the current Ritsuka could do.

After a few more minutes, the younger Ritsuka stopped shaking. "I'm fine now," He said, looking embarrassed at hugging Natsuo. "I have to tell you about the next part of the plan…"

* * *

Nisei was alone.

He was supposed to be in class, but Seimei ordered him to stay in the house and prevent the two Ritsukas from meeting. As far as Nisei knew, the younger Ritsuka was with Seimei and the older one was still asleep.

He knew that Seimei regarded him as little more than a useful tool. For this reason he secretly resented Ritsuka—but it was only that: a secret. If Seimei knew that Nisei longed to murder Ritsuka so that Nisei could have Seimei all to himself, it would be his last day on earth.

And last night, that squirt…

The past Ritsuka was annoying, plain and simple. The older Ritsuka was intelligent and calculating. He couldn't see how they were related—or, indeed, how the older Ritsuka emerged from the younger one after the memory loss. Nisei might've doubted the authenticity of the younger Ritsuka weren't for Seimei.

Also, the way that the younger Ritsuka laughed when the plane smacked him from behind…

It hinted at something sinister. It might have just been a prank—

_What was that?_

He saw a flash of green. Nisei quickly got out of his room to rush to the stairs. There, at the bottom of the landing, were two boys that he had never seen before.

Both boys still had their ears. One had long green hair, while the other had curly red hair. They waved at him, smiling.

"You—!"

"Ah, you must be Beloved's Fighter," The green-haired boy said. "I'm Youji and this is Natsuo."

"We're Zero," Added Natsuo cheerfully.

Zero. Sagan Nagisa's pets.

The Seven Moons were here…

"Systems Engage," Nisei said at once. Never mind how they knew—he needed to get rid of these two first. "I declare a spell battle."

"You hear that, Natsuo? This guy wants to battle us," Youji chuckled.

"We decline," said a new voice directly behind Nisei.

Automatically, Nisei turned—just in time to see a very familiar plane come zooming up to his face. Nisei took a step back—

Too far.

The next thing that he knew, he was on his back. He had a vague recollection of falling down the stairs, rattling his bones with every step. He felt like he'd been flung into the washing machine. He groaned.

He'd been tricked by the younger Ritsuka again!

"Is he dead?" Someone shouted, sounding worried.

"Nope; it'll take more than that to kill him," Someone else replied.

He lifted himself up on his elbows with a herculean effort. His eyes were halfway shut, but he felt the shadow of someone as it jumped clear over him.

"Run!"

"You bastard," Nisei gasped, falling to all fours. He could hear the sound of footsteps as three children—The Zero and the younger Ritsuka—ran away from him.

By the time Nisei was back on his feet, they had vanished. Nisei's temper was also at boiling point. He threw open the doors to the garden when he heard no footsteps from inside the house.

In the garden, Nisei cast out his senses as a Fighter to find where they were. He got a Fighter-Unit signal and a Sacrifice-signal almost at once: The Zero pair, he assumed, were the ones in the bushes. The lone Sacrifice, the younger Ritsuka, was crouching behind a tree.

Nisei paused to catch his breath. It hurt, which probably meant that his ribs were bruised.

Those kids…

They would pay.

Dearly.

He remembered that the younger Ritsuka was afraid of fire. With a crafty smile, Nisei spoke the most potent fire-spell he knew: one that would burn until the focus of his anger was gone.

"Flame, burn the world with your unforgiving power."

At his words, a spark grew. It fed off the dry leaves of mid-autumn. Fire blazed.

* * *

Soubi sat quite calmly in the front seat of the taxi. His watch told him that it was eight in the morning.

He'd left Kio behind. He didn't need any of his Fighter senses to know that this battle would be a different one. He'd even turned his phone off so that Kio would stop trying to call him.

"Hey, Mister, you're bleeding," Noted the overly chatty taxi driver.

Soubi glared at him coldly, and the driver gulped. "Am just saying, is all," The driver mumbled.

"Just concentrate on doing your job," Soubi hissed. Once he was sure that the driver's concentration was once again on the road, he lifted a hand up and touched his bandages.

So. It wasn't wet again-wet with fresh blood, that is—but it was glowing an angry red, giving the impression of bleeding when not seen clearly. It was also throbbing. The pain would have driven a normal Fighter out of his mind.

To Soubi, it was another thing he endured for his Ritsuka. Ritsuka—that was who he thought of now, the thoughts of the young Sacrifice like a fairy boat to carry him throughout the waves of pain.

A Fighter's Punishment could only be done by his Sacrifice. As long as the Fighter accepted the bond, the Sacrifice could punish his Fighter by their name. Additionally, a Fighters' Punishment was partly equivalent to his pain threshold. The stronger a Fighter was, the greater the level of pain when inflicting Punishment.

It was because it was expected that as a Fighter grew stronger, there would be less need for Punishment. Why, after all, punish a Fighter who was strong? Why punish him, except for the times when it disobeyed you?

Soubi's hands fell away from his bandages. Did the pain mean that he still accepted Seimei's ownership?

Did it mean that Ritsuka could not be, and would never be, his Master?

For Soubi could see it clearly now—it was really up to him. It was Soubi himself who would decide who to follow. And yet understanding his dilemma was not the same as making the decision—as it was, all he could do was to sneak in so he could spirit both Ritsukas away from Seimei, then slink away like the coward he was.

"_Who could love a disgusting thing like you?"_

Seimei had said those words so long ago. It was still true. Maybe this would be the bravest thing he'd ever do, after all.

With a start, Soubi realized that the taxi had stopped. They weren't even at Beika yet-though it was clearly seen at a distance. There was a line of traffic ahead, seemingly going on forever. "What is it?"

The driver pointed nervously. "There's fire trucks…headed for the University."

"Fire trucks?" Soubi repeated dumbly.

" I think something's on fire…Hey! Wait! Mister!"

For Soubi had thrown the door open and was running towards the University, dodging cars and curious passer-bys, who were gawking at the red engines.

Soubi might not be much good in sensing where Ritsuka was, but it could not be coincidence—a fire in Beika? It had to be related to the Aoyagi brothers.

There was only one thought on his mind:

The younger Ritsuka was afraid of fire.

* * *

It was the biggest fire that the younger Ritsuka had ever seen.

He was unable to scream, which was good, in a way. Screaming would have told Nisei where he was, and what if he found out that they'd provoked him into starting the fire?

On the other hand, he also couldn't run. He was frozen in place, knees locked, watching helplessly as the fire grew nearer.

The fear in him grew stronger.

_I must not open my mouth_, the younger Ritsuka thought desperately. _If I open my mouth, I would just scream and scream and scream. _

The fire was so beautiful…

So deadly.

He was hidden behind a tree, and his eyes were locked on Nisei. The Zero boys, he hoped, were meeting up with Soubi.

Unless Soubi's phone was off…

_MOVE!_ A voice shouted at him from his head. _Move, you idiot, before you get burned alive!_ The voice sounded like his older self.

But he couldn't move. The fire was spreading quickly—the flames jumped from bush to bush, from branch to roof. In a few minutes the whole garden was set afire.

He stood there, still frozen, as Nisei realized how much damaged his spell had done. Then, as the younger Ritsuka prayed, Nisei ran back to the house.

"Seimei!" Shouted the Beloved Sentouki.

The younger Ritsuka was right. In a fire, a Fighter would save his Sacrifice first.

But what about him?

He looked up. The branch directly overhead was burning to a crisp. Chibi watched, mesmerized, as the branch broke off to descend on top of him.

He shut his eyes tight against the bad dream.

"Ritsuka!"

Someone had knocked him over. He and his savior rolled in the grass, coming to a halt just before a carpet of fire.

"Ritsuka! Ritsuka, are you all right?"

"Chouma?" He murmured.

Kaidou Chouma knelt over him, looking so much like her brother that the younger Ritsuka could only stare. "Why didn't you move?"

"I was scared to…"

"It was going to kill you!"

The younger Ritsuka wanted to cry, but he was so petrified of the fire that the tears wouldn't come. "The other Ritsuka…" He began. Then, he repeated, "The other Ritsuka-where is he?"

"We got separated—"

"Separated! How?"

"We got to the hallway okay, but he insisted on looking for you. He…he disappeared in the smoke."

_He went looking for me_…

The younger Ritsuka was galvanized into action. He darted into the house—it wasn't burning badly, but everything was clouded with smoke. Chiyako-sensei's house was not equipped with fire alarms.

Chouma made a grab for him but missed. She got up to follow him, but as instantly blinded by the smoke. She retreated, grabbing at her cell phone as she went.

"Fire Department? There's a fire in Beika University! The teacher's complex…Chiyako-sensei's!"

* * *

The older Ritsuka was lost.

He couldn't see anything but the black smoke, much less the exit. At this rate the only way that he could see the younger Ritsuka would be if he danced the funky chicken in front of him.

"Ritsuka! Ritsuka!" He called.

He was not leaving the house until he found the younger Ritsuka. Who knew what was happening now?

Tears rose from his eyes, caused by the thickening smoke. He coughed, then dropped to his knees. That seemed better. There was more fresh air down here at least.

And Seimei…where was Seimei?

He wondered briefly who started this fire. Chouma didn't have a chance to explain. She only told him that the younger Ritsuka wanted to talk to him before they used the fire as a distraction for him to escape.

Why was the younger Ritsuka so determined to be the hero?

He needed to know…

The younger Ritsuka had to know that he wasn't alone in all of this.

The older Ritsuka suddenly bumped into something. He crawled backwards, rubbing his head.

A toilet. He bumped his head on the rim of a toilet. He had crawled to the bathroom without even realizing it. How idiotic!

Suddenly, a hand descended on his shoulder, and he cried out. Instinctively, he swept his hand outwards.

"OW!"

"Ritsuka?" He said in confusion.

The older Ritsuka heard someone shuffling closer towards him. "Yes, it's me," The younger Ritsuka confirmed. "What are you doing here?"

The older Ritsuka glanced at him, searching for any burns. There was nothing, except for the fact that the younger Ritsuka braved the thing that he feared the most to come after him.

He tried to hide his relief and admiration by snapping at the younger Ritsuka. "What am I doing here? Isn't it supposed to be, 'What are YOU doing here?'"

The younger Ritsuka's face was grimy with soot, and the older Ritsuka guessed that they looked identical. "Seimei sent for me. He didn't come after you after I've arrived here. You shouldn't have come."

"I came to rescue you."

"I didn't need rescuing!" The younger Ritsuka insisted hotly.

"Did you start this?"

The door to their side suddenly caught fire, and the younger Ritsuka shrieked, putting his arms over his face.

Hesitantly, the older Ritsuka reached out to pat him on the head. His own self. "I'm sorry," He muttered.

Of course it was stupid to suggest that the younger Ritsuka started this fire. Chibi was scared of fire.

The older Ritsuka took his younger self's hand. "We'll get out now, all right?" He said soothingly. "I'll need you to lead me out, though."

His younger self squeezed his hand in return, "That's what I'm here for."

* * *

They couldn't get too far. The fire seemed to double in size with every breath, until they were practically slithering on the floor, gasping for fresh air.

It was hot, hot, hot! Even the sweat on their faces were drying up.

The younger Ritsuka went first, his tail wound around the older Ritsuka's wrist. They couldn't speak, for fear of inhaling more of the smoke.

Suddenly the younger Ritsuka stopped. "Seimei…" He said softly, staring up the stairs. He recognized it after all his time here. It was the stairs to the attic.

He turned to the older Ritsuka, "Just go straight ahead, you'll see a door."

"But where are you going?" Protested the older Ritsuka as the younger Ritsuka began to crawl up the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to check on Aniki," The younger Ritsuka replied.

"On Seimei? You mean you left him upstairs?"

"Don't worry, I think Nisei already got to him first, but I'd like to make sure."

"Not alone, you won't," retorted the older Ritsuka.

"You need to get out!"

"What do you think will happen if you die here?" Shot back the older Ritsuka. "We are the same!"

The younger Ritsuka looked surprised."That's the first time you admitted it. Oh, all right. Do what you want," He grumbled. He turned his face away before the older Ritsuka could not see the smile that lit up his face, but the older Ritsuka saw it anyway.

The older Ritsuka felt sad that something as simple as that could make the younger Ritsuka happy. Right then and there, he vowed not to ostracize the younger Ritsuka from his life—they were really the same. If they got out of this mess, he'd make the younger Ritsuka feel like he was a part of his life.

Not if, the older Ritsuka corrected himself.

When they get out.

And they climbed up the stairs together.

* * *

Soubi burst into the burning house. He'd met up with the Zero boys a minute ago, and they'd quickly given him a brief explanation of what was happening.

He couldn't believe what they had told him-that the younger Ritsuka drugged Seimei and provoked Nisei to start this fire so that the older Ritsuka could escape.

And also…the younger Ritsuka had another goal.

To erase all of Seimei's research.

"Wind, clear my path," he ordered. Immediately, a wind tunnel opened up in front of him. He sped down one hallway and then another, looking for both Ritsukas at once.

The younger Ritsuka was quickly proving to be more than what he first seemed. Temperamental, cunning, sly. He was more than an emotional brat. He was—though it hurt Soubi to admit it—similar to Seimei in many ways.

And the current Ritsuka? He was Soubi's life. His soul. His hope.

"Ritsuka!"

The fire grew, fed by the wind-spell that he made. If it kept on going, they would be trapped in here. The fire-trucks were coming, but still, the firemen would be too late.

No matter. He didn't plan to stay long.

He climbed up a set of stairs, then turned to inspect each of the rooms. He only had a few seconds to spare, just enough to open the door, call for Ritsuka, then get out when he saw that no one was there. All of the rooms were burning.

Where were they?

If only the bond was complete…

_Call for me, Ritsuka_, he begged in his head.

No answer. Of course.

At last, he arrived at the last room in the house. The attic. By this time, the wind-spell was weakening, smothered by the greedy fire. Everything was lit up orange.

"Ritsuka!"

There! His Ritsuka was laying face-down on the floor. He snatched him up quickly, and left.

Soubi peered at Ritsuka's face closely. Was he breathing? Had he perhaps inhaled too much smoke already?

Please, please, please. Please be breathing. Please be all right.

The blond Sentouki ran, before the stairs could burn away. This teacher's house was made of wood, like most traditional Japanese houses. The wind tunnel was collapsing.

Suddenly Soubi's feet were no longer pounding on wood, but on earth.

Out! They were out. Soubi stopped in surprise. Then he laid Ritsuka down on the grass.

CPR. Ritsuka needed CPR!

Without hesitation, Soubi lifted Ritsuka head to clear the pathway and listened to his chest. The heartbeat was weak.

"Ritsuka, no," Soubi pleaded. Then, he threw himself into the task of saving his Ritsuka, the panic making him more frenzied each time his Sacrifice did not wake up.

Lips, on his own. Soft and familiar. However, his usual joy at feeling Ritsuka's lips had gone, to be replaced by desperation. He breathed for Ritsuka, keeping the tears at bay.

Please, Ritsuka, live!

Finally, as Soubi breathed for Ritsuka the fifth or sixth time, he coughed. Soubi pulled back, startled, as he saw his Sacrifice open his eyes. That lovely violet…

"Ritsuka!"

He crushed Ritsuka in his embrace, shaking with relief. It was a long moment before he could let go, but he finally did. He held Ritsuka an arm's length away from him, inspecting him for injuries. Ritsuka's face was dirty, but he didn't seem burnt, or even singed.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

Ritsuka was here…he was here, in his arms…

Ritsuka reached out to touch his cheek. "Don't cry," He whispered hoarsely. Then, he fingered the angry scars at his neck. "You're bleeding, Soubi-san."

"All that matters is that you're unharmed," He told his Sacrifice.

Ritsuka smiled. "Thank you, Soubi-san."

Then Soubi froze. "''Soubi-san?'" he repeated, stunned.

The older Ritsuka never called him 'Soubi-san'.

"Soubi…san?" The younger Ritsuka asked him. "What's the matter?"

He'd gotten the wrong Ritsuka.

* * *

Kyaaa...that's it for the 10th. I hope the amount of action in here makes up for the wait.

Dear readers, before I make my regular running commentary to my reviewers, I have to point out something I observed about the Loveless yaoi i've read so far...most of them place emphasis on the ears while the "act" is being done, but the** tail** is not mentioned...I wonder why? * laughs * not to mention that it's quite, you know, near the most active place, right? Somebody please torture me with a slinky if I am displaying more than my usual insanity... *laughs again*

_**To my reviewers: Thank you so much!**_

_**Promocat**_: I think, for this chapter, Seimei was the one who got screwed up. Haha. For once, right? I am still nervous at the younger Ritsuka's act of drugging Seimei...*face palms* since most likely Seimei will murder anyone who dares to drug him. Oh, and the others didn't get straightened out, now did they...? I think they got into more trouble...Kya.

_**CheyWolfe**_: My beta! Thank you for beta-reading and editing this chapter. I really ought to print out your review and laminate it. I didn't expect the review-I was really happy! Thank you. It means a lot...and the way you reviewed was very specific. you pointed out exactly what you liked. I've been scared that I've portrayed them out of character, but you've reassured me time and time again. Oh, and about the Wisdom Resurrection. Well, the younger Ritsuka didn't have a cell phone...no one gave him the ultimate gadget. Hm, minus points for Soubi!

_**VeelaSophia**_: Have you brought the rest of the manga yet? *sigh* you're lucky! Where I am from, there's no loveless manga being sold anywhere, so I had to rely on mangafox. Tch. And no, you are not the only one who thinks that Seimei is cool...You might notice that I rarely put in Seimei's point of view in Mnemosyne, because I am terrified of diminishing his cool-ness! He's evil, and a difficult character...I still really love playing around with him! (Oh, and I hoped you breathed for this chapter...this was far more intense than any of the chapters I put up so far, methinks.)

_**JumpingJelloDinosaurs-Rawr**_: *covers Mnemosyne files wildly* H-How did you know what would happen? AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhh! Am I getting too predictable? *sulks in corner* Ah well! I'm still happy that I'm keeping you engrossed. The references to toast in this chapter are credited to you. Haha. I hope I haven't disappointed you! And I apologize for the long wait...was it worth it?

_**RomanJuliet**_: *holds up spoon* let's poke out your infected eye, ne? so you can enjoy Mnemosyne to the fullest...oh? it's already okay? Just kidding. Younger Ritsuka's Loveless capabilities are revealed in this chapter! I'm trying to put up my own theories about the name "Loveless"...Hope you enjoyed!

We are nearing the end. The next chapter will be the last one, then there's an epilogue after that. I just realized that "Mnemosyne" is actually as long as the anime (both are 12 episodes, ne?) though I never meant for it to be that way...

Thank you for the Favorites, the Alerts, and everyone who reads. Check out my profile for a pic of Ritsuka at age 17, as drawn by Yun Kouga-sama.

PLEASE REVIEW! I am uncertain about what to include in the last chapter...


	11. Mnemosyne

Disclaimer: I do not own loveless, any of its characters, or the ideas.

A/N: How busy have I been exactly? Well, I have actually forgotten the exact events of the previous chapters. * sighs * Work is a killer, and besides, I've had entrance exams left, right and center. Grragh! Please forgive me! (Or you can poke the people at my job with a extra-large straw. that would help.)

This is the last chapter!

* * *

Mnemosyne 11

The first sensation that assaulted the younger Ritsuka's mind was the smell of smoke. He struggled weakly, thinking that he was still back in that burning house—

But no, he wasn't. Someone was hugging him, calling his name, their voice thick with tears. Someone with blond hair…

"Soubi-san?" He rasped, and even his mouth tasted smoky. He wasn't sure if the man had heard, because Soubi-san was still weeping. He tried again, "Don't cry."

His eyes zoomed in to Soubi's neck. He was too tired to wonder how Soubi was here, but…"You're bleeding, Soubi-san," He said, worried. He couldn't read the English letters well, but the word in the middle was 'love'.

"All that matters is that you're unharmed," Soubi told him.

The younger Ritsuka's ears twitched, and he smiled. Those words ignited a flame in him-a different kind, the kind that he might like in the future. "Thank you, Soubi-san."

"Soubi…san?" The adult repeated slowly. As the younger Ritsuka watched, Soubi went pale.

Was Soubi-san hurt somewhere? The younger Ritsuka peered at the Sentouki's body, "Soubi-san? What's the matter?"

The younger Ritsuka barely knew any first aid, but if Soubi-san was hurt, he'd try to heal him.

He tried again, "Where's the other Ritsuka?"

That was when he was dropped to the ground, though the drop was too low to have jolted him. The younger Ritsuka struggled to all fours, searching this way and that for his future self. He wasn't there.

Realization came instantly. "No way…" He whispered, turning back to the burning house. "NO!" Chibi tried to stand, to run back to the house, to…to…

He took two steps then fell over, woozy. Soubi-san didn't react. He was still kneeling on the ground, his head bowed.

The younger Ritsuka grabbed Soubi roughly. "Soubi-san! Soubi-san! We have to rescue him!"

No sound came from Soubi. The Sentouki raised a shaking hand to his face.

"Why are you just sitting there?" the younger Ritsuka yelled. He tried again to stand, and managed to rise to one knee. "He's going to…I'm going to die!"

When Soubi-san still didn't move, the younger Ritsuka became furious. "Coward," He hissed. "You coward! I hate you. I **hate** you!"

The younger Ritsuka did not see how Soubi's eyes widened, and he did not know that he had just pushed Soubi one step further into his endless cycle of self-hatred.

Chibi forced himself to his feet, and ran.

/

The fire loomed over him like a hungry monster. He seemed to remember that people should throw water over themselves before going into a fire.

But there was no water anywhere to be found. That didn't matter; he was not going to let anything stop him. Soubi, the silly adult, had been frozen.

He must save himself. There was no one else.

Each step that he took placed him closer to the fire. The door was open, and he shot through it, only to stop abruptly when he saw that he could advance no further.

Everything was burning.

"Ritsuka! Ritsuka!" He called, raising an arm to shield himself.

Belatedly, he remembered his fear of fire. His feet locked, and he sank down, curling up on the floor. "No…" He whimpered, pressing his ears and tail closer to him. He didn't want to stop—everything depended on him—but his body refused to obey. "I have to find you…"

He closed his eyes. He was helpless and couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight his fear of fire. He was no better than the catatonic man outside. Soubi at least had sense to move himself out of danger.

That was why the younger Ritsuka was close to the door of the attic…he had convinced the other Ritsuka to come up there, but when they opened the door, he had frozen, like he was doing now.

It was the older Ritsuka who looked at him, squeezed his hand, and told him to stay near the door so that they could get out easily.

It was the older Ritsuka who searched for Seimei in that room, though it had been the younger Ritsuka's idea to be there. The older Ritsuka was far braver. Nicer.

The younger Ritsuka had waited and waited for the older Ritsuka to come out, but he didn't.

And in the end, it was the younger Ritsuka who had gotten rescued first.

It was all his fault! The younger Ritsuka moaned into his knees.

He couldn't even save his future self! And the older Ritsuka came all the way here, too…Soubi-san and the Zero pair as well…

Was this Hell? Had he become so bad? He'd drugged Seimei and practically pushed Nisei down the stairs, not to mention burned down a nice lady's house…

Helpless, a kid, a moron!

"Ritsuka!"

He did not lift his head, for surely it was his imagination that enabled him to hear that familiar voice, that voice that saved him once already. And he did not move until a hand stroked his cheek.

"Ritsuka," Chouma grabbed his wrist and tried to drag the younger Ritsuka over the threshold. Chibi resisted.

"NO! The older Ritsuka-"

"He's with me!"

The younger Ritsuka gasped, and got a lungful of smoke. There was his older self, slung on Chouma's arm like a rag doll. The older Ritsuka was hideously injured. "Ritsuka!" he screamed.

Wind buffeted around them, pushing the fire back.

"Let's get out of here!" Snapped Chouma.

The younger Ritsuka followed her out of the house. He would have cried if there was a drop of moisture left in his body to squeeze out.

* * *

"What happened? Soubi?" Natsuo prodded the silent Fighter.

"It's hopeless," Youji declared.

The Zero pair had just caught up to Soubi after he'd left them in the middle of explaining Chibi's intentions. However, now that they did, it seemed that there wasn't much to see, after all. They'd asked Soubi a dozen times where both Ritsukas were. Soubi never answered.

Was it possible that Soubi had arrived too late, and was now contemplating how to follow his Sacrifice into death?

"We have to-" Youji began.

"Loveless!" Natsuo exclaimed. A tall figure was emerging from the doorway of the burning house—a girl with a black-haired boy on each arm. One of the boys, the smaller figure, was walking on his own, but the other was draped on the girl's shoulder. "Chouma!"

Soubi looked up. Gasping and staggering, the trio wobbled to them, and immediately sank to the ground. The older Ritsuka slid to the ground, unconscious.

"We need an ambulance," Ordered Chouma. Her left arm was marked with nasty-looking burns. "The older Ritsuka-"

The younger Ritsuka seized his older self and touched his cheeks. "Wake up, big dummy!" He pleaded, his voice unsteady. "Wake up!"

The older Ritsuka did not respond.

"What's the matter with him?" Natsuo asked.

"Smoke inhalation," Chouma explained. "And his back has been burned. I found him in the attic after you went inside, Ritsuka."

"But Soubi and I-" Chibi protested.

"Yes. We must have missed each other," Chouma smirked at Soubi. "I didn't expect to find Beloved here."

/

Soubi gazed at the older Ritsuka—His Ritsuka. His Sacrifice. His love.

His mistake.

Ritsuka's back was burned clean away, the flesh underneath raw and red. His Ritsuka's eyes were closed, and Soubi believed that they would never open again. The skin was marred with black marks.

Every open wound reflected how Soubi had failed.

Soubi could not move, though it was supposed to his job to comfort Ritsuka. To bring him to the hospital.

The Zero pair and Chouma were talking. Where were the firemen? Why were they taking so long?

Soubi lifted his head slowly, and was startled when he found out that the younger Ritsuka was staring at him. Those young eyes were so critical, as if they were judging Soubi and found that he was not up to the task of protecting the older Ritsuka.

The older Ritsuka would never have looked at him that way.

Oh, but Seimei would have.

In that look, Soubi remembered Seimei's charge to him—the last order that he had given before he had pretended to die.

"_If I die, you will belong to Ritsuka." _

To protect. That was his sole duty.

It was almost ironic how this child, how those eyes, reminded him of what he must do. Ironic, that he once thought that he had hated the younger Ritsuka.

That order was supposed to be a punishment, but it had backfired. Now Soubi thought that it had been the best order that Seimei had given him. The circumstances that pushed Seimei to give that order might not be favorable, but Soubi, selfishly, wanted to thank Divided all the same.

Seized with a sudden decision, Soubi removed his coat and wrapped the older Ritsuka in it. He was being very careful not to hurt the older Ritsuka any more than he already was. He stood, preparing to run. The nearest fire-truck was only a few yards away...they would have proper equipment. He moved so quickly it was a few moments before the Zero pair and Chouma were aware of it.

"Soubi-san!"

"I'm going to the hospital," Soubi told Chouma shortly. She was another mystery, another thing that he did not have the time to think about. Just as he did not have the luxury of thinking about Seimei now.

"Soubi, by the time you get there, it will be too late. Do you understand me? Ritsuka is going to die!"

"Then what would you have me do?" Soubi snarled. "I will not sit here and watch him die!"

"We're going to die?" A tiny voice warbled.

Both Fighters looked down to see the younger Ritsuka staring at them with his mouth hanging open. "No. Chouma, you're lying…aren't you? The other Ritsuka is going to be fine, isn't he?"

* * *

Neither adult knew how to answer. The younger Ritsuka realized what they were trying to say.

The older Ritsuka **was** going to die.

He was going to die, too.

Was this why he was brought forward in time? To see how he…

"No…" The younger Ritsuka wailed. "I won't…I won't accept this!"

Soubi began to walk again, "I know, Ritsuka. I won't let it happen."

"Have you checked if he's still breathing?" Chouma asked them quietly.

Soubi stopped.

"He's not breathing?" Said the younger Ritsuka in disbelief. "Soubi-san?"

"It's too late, Soubi. Even if he breathes again, there's going to be irreparable brain damage because of the smoke inhalation. Do you understand?"

Chouma's voice was gentle, but Ritsuka was still hurt by what he was hearing. He shook his head so hard that his cat ears flapped. "I won't watch myself die."

"Let's go," Soubi began to walk again.

Irreparable brain damage? Soubi would still take Ritsuka, even if he had become a vegetable. He was Ritsuka's Sentouki. As long as Ritsuka lived, Soubi would live for him.

"You really are quite a pair," Chouma sighed irritably. She let them walk a little way off, then sighed again. "Wait. I can help you! Wait!"

/

Dare she propose this? It was a life she was saving…and a life she was destroying.

Soubi turned to her, his gaze icy, "What do you mean?"

"I can…I can save him."

"Whole? No damage? Not injured?" The younger Ritsuka asked eagerly.

"Yes," She replied.

"There's a catch, isn't there?" Youji said shrewdly.

Now it was Chouma's turn to hesitate. "Yes," She glanced at the younger Ritsuka, then at the older one. "You see, my real name is United."

"And?" the younger Ritsuka prompted. But Soubi and the Zero pair knew instantly what it meant.

Very possibly, it could not be justified. But oddly enough, it was the only way that she could repay a bit of the kindness the younger Ritsuka had shown her.

The only way that she could grant his wish.

Kaidou Chouma knelt so that she and the younger Ritsuka were on the same eye level. "Ritsuka, I can make you and the other Ritsuka one again," She said gently. "But I am not sure what will happen. You might disappear."

* * *

The younger Ritsuka's heart stopped.

Him? Disappear?

"But, I-" He whispered.

Would that mean that he would not get to see Seimei again? He really wanted to explain why he did those things. And the Zero pair. They were his friends, weren't they? He promised that they'd play more videogames.

He wanted to bug Kio and Nisei again. He wanted to treat Chouma like the older sister he never had. He wanted to be friends with Charlie and Makoto, and maybe Akira too. He wanted to thank Chiyako-sensei for letting them use her house, and tell her that he was really, really sorry that he'd burned it down.

He wanted to watch over his mother.

He wanted to see Soubi paint again.

He wanted to watch the sunset once more with the older Ritsuka and Soubi, and finally use the fireworks they hadn't used the last time.

He wanted to fly more planes and go to the sea.

He didn't want to disappear!

Panicky, he looked at the older Ritsuka for advice, and then remembered: the older Ritsuka was dying.

He clenched his fists. Soubi's face was emotionless.

All of those things that he wanted to do…they would be no fun at all if the older Ritsuka wasn't by his side.

But, he really didn't want to…

"All right. Let's do it."

/

"Are you sure?" Chouma probed. "You-"

"Are you asking me to let him die?" screamed the younger Ritsuka hysterically. "I can't! I don't want to disappear, but if it's going to be a choice between him or me being here, I'll be the one who's going to leave! I have to, can't you see? This is...this is his life now!"

He glared at the adults defiantly, daring them to contradict his words. When they did not, his face crumpled with disappointment. He'd known that it was true, but at the same time, he had wanted someone to tell him that it wasn't so.

That he was wanted and needed here, too.

"What do we need to do?" He asked Chouma fiercely, to hide his feelings.

Chouma took a long time before she answered. "I'll just have to use my name's attack on you both. That's it."

"Come here, Soubi," The younger Ritsuka said. He refused to look at the Sentouki. He was sick of it all, suddenly. He was sick of not being wanted, and if he could run away from all that, then it would be better.

Soubi's movements were also slow.

"Hurry up!" The younger Ritsuka barked.

Soubi knelt down, too, then laid a hand on the younger Ritsuka's cheek, "I don't want you to disappear."

The younger Ritsuka was taken aback. "Liar," He accused.

"Why do you think we came for you?" Soubi replied, his eyes deadly serious.

"I don't know."

"If there is any other way…"

Then two pairs of arms were heavy on the younger Ritsuka's shoulders. "We want you to stay, too, Chibi," The Zero pair said into each ear.

For a moment, the younger Ritsuka could not speak. His breathing was shallow, and he wanted to thank them, but he didn't know where to start.

Finally, quietly, he said, "Thank you, but there's no other way, right?"

Chouma nodded miserably, "I'm sorry."

"Then it's okay!" the younger Ritsuka said, slipping out from the Zero pair's arms. He gave Youji and Natsuo a hug each. "I don't want to die here. I told you that already. The other Ritsuka and I are one, after all."

He was failing at his attempt to be cheerful and he knew it. But that didn't matter.

"Maybe this was why I was brought back," He mumbled. He knelt and held the other Ritsuka's limp hand. It was already cold, which scared the younger Ritsuka badly. "Let's go, Chouma."

This time, Chouma did not hesitate. She must have felt that they were running out of time, too, and she had no power to resurrect the dead. "My name is United. Heal, that which what was once broken. Bring together, body, mind, heart and soul."

* * *

"Ritsuka," Soubi murmured. He reached for the younger Ritsuka's hand, the best that he could while still holding the older Ritsuka.

The younger Ritsuka allowed his hand to be held, which was a relief.

But that hand, smaller even than his Ritsuka's, was slowly becoming more substantial. Soubi realized that the younger Ritsuka was becoming transparent.

"It doesn't hurt," The younger Ritsuka assured him.

Maybe not for the younger Ritsuka. But Soubi's heart ached. "I'd take your place in an instant if I could."

"Oh, no, you can't. That reminds me," the younger Ritsuka began, tilting his head sideways, "Can you promise me something, Soubi-san?"

"Anything," he vowed. "I'll protect Ritsuka with my life."

The younger Ritsuka was amused. "Not that, silly adult. I already know you're going to do that, anyway."

_What then?_ Soubi thought, genuinely puzzled.

Violet eyes glimmered. "Can you promise me…to take care of yourself? You see, if you…If something happens to you…I would be sad." The younger Ritsuka nodded at the other Ritsuka. "Both of us would be sad. If Aniki commands you to die, fight him, okay?"

The Sentouki was struck speechless. His last promise would be this…?

"Soubi-san!" Whined the younger Ritsuka. "I don't have much time!"

"I promise."

The younger Ritsuka smiled, "I don't hate you."

"I know."

"Then why are you so sad? Why are you crying?" Wondered the younger Ritsuka.

"Because I-"

Suddenly Soubi's hand closed on empty air. He cried out his anguish, but the younger Ritsuka was still there, a mist-like apparition that wouldn't last much longer. "No! Ritsuka!"

He thought he heard the younger Ritsuka laugh. "Silly Soubi. We'll meet again, won't we?"

And the younger Ritsuka disappeared.

* * *

The older Ritsuka saw nothing but mist.

So this was what it was like, being dead. Just…mist. It was kind of boring, but he assumed that something else would happen soon.

He was glad that he wasn't in pain anymore, though. The last memory he had was a searing pain down his back, then suffocating on pure carbon monoxide. He understood at last why Chibi had been afraid of fire.

There was once a time when he thought that it would be alright to die—back when he still thought Seimei dead and Soubi had not yet entered his life. Misaki did not love him, and he had nowhere to run to.

But now…

He had friends, a nice teacher, and an even nicer doctor.

He had Soubi.

He was loved, at last.

He sighed. It was too late.

He hoped that the younger Ritsuka had survived. If that was so, he would go—perhaps not happily, but at least assured that the people he valued would be cared for.

It was finally time to let go. To disappear once again to where he once was, wherever that was.

He was brought abruptly out of his musings when he felt someone yank on his tail. He whipped around, a snarl already on his lips, "What?"

The younger Ritsuka was behind him, giggling. He still had the older Ritsuka's tail in his hand, "Hello!"

"What…are you doing here?" The older Ritsuka breathed.

"Following you, of course."

"You're not supposed to be here!"

The younger Ritsuka snorted, "Really, now! Even when I'm saving you, you push me away!"

"I don't need—what did you say?"

The younger Ritsuka smiled then. "You can go back," He said.

"Me? What about you?"

The younger Ritsuka shook his head, "There's only room for one Ritsuka back there."

"Then it should be you—"

"No," The younger Ritsuka said wistfully. "It's not a choice of either me or you. I understand it now, because I didn't before. Can't you see? We did die…that night when Divided separated us. Now we can finally be together again."

"I don't understand," The older Ritsuka exclaimed.

"They'll explain."

"Who will?"

The younger Ritsuka winked, "Why don't we go and find out?"

The older Ritsuka saw his younger self beginning to pull his tail once again. "Wait, no, don't—"

Amazingly, the younger Ritsuka stopped. He dropped the older Ritsuka's tail, and embraced him tightly instead.

"I love you. Bye, Ritsuka. Take care of Mom and Soubi, okay? And stop being such a wimp. I don't want to grow up to be a loser, you know."

The last thing he saw before he left that place was the younger Ritsuka smiling.

* * *

Seimei watched the burning house from a safe distance.

He had woken only a few minutes ago. Nisei was by his side. It was his Fighter who had explained what happened.

By this time, both Ritsukas had probably escaped. The Archives were utterly destroyed.

"Seimei?" Nisei asked cautiously.

Seimei still did not speak. The only person who he had trusted and loved in the entire world…had betrayed him.

"Seimei?" Nisei called once more.

He would have to begin again. Not quite from scratch, because Kaidou Chouma had always been careful to provide backup to their research. However, this little stint of arson from the younger Ritsuka was going to push the research back for several months, for Chouma did not have updated back-up.

Despite everything, Seimei felt a smile curving his lips. "Bravo, Ritsuka," He whispered. "Until the next round, then."

* * *

Ritsuka woke to the gentle motions of a vehicle.

"Ritsuka?"

Soubi, Ritsuka realized. "What…happened? Where's the other Ritsuka?"

He sat up so suddenly that Soubi gasped, "How are you feeling, Ritsuka?"

"I'm fine! Where's the other one?"

They were in a taxi. Youji, Natsuo, and Soubi were squeezed in next to him. He hoped with all his heart that the younger Ritsuka was in the front seat.

"Where is he?" he repeated, beginning to get angry. Soubi wasn't meeting his eyes and the Zero pair looked sorry for him.

When they still didn't answer, he felt his back for any sign of injury. There was none. No burns. His shirt had a hole in its back, but other than that, he was unharmed. "Did he ask to be left behind?"

Soubi shook his head, "He's gone, Ritsuka."

"You're lying," Ritsuka said at once. "He can't be…dead…" His voice broke on the last word.

"He didn't die in the fire," Natsuo told him.

"What then?"

"_You_ were one who was dying, Ritsuka." Soubi explained. Every word seemed forced out of him against his will. "Even if we had gotten you to a hospital, you would have been brain-damaged. Chouma used her Fighter name's attack on both of you. She is United—the opposite of Divided."

"I don't understand," Ritsuka said, when all he really wanted to say was 'I don't accept this'. "What did you tell him?"

"It was his choice," Youji muttered.

"But didn't he understand? We came here to bring him back!" He pounded his fists on Soubi's chest. "Where's Chouma? We'll ask her to reverse the spell!"

Soubi shook his head mechanically, not even flinching at Ritsuka's increasingly desperate blows, "She can't."

"LIAR!" Ritsuka shouted. "I promised…I won't make him feel unwanted again! I did! Even if he's different—"

That was when Soubi silenced him by crushing Ritsuka against his chest. The boy flailed at first, wanting to get away from the comfort that those arms provided, for he now sought comfort from another. He hit Soubi a few times more, before he noticed that Soubi was shaking.

"Shh, shh, Ritsuka," Soothed Soubi. Tears were trickling down into Ritsuka's hair. Soubi was grieving, too. "I know."

"He said we'd be together again," Whispered Ritsuka.

"And you are," His Sentouki reminded him. "Each minute of everyday, he lives on in you."

* * *

Kio stood up as soon as the taxi stopped outside the Seven Moons Academy's waiting house. It was already late afternoon, and his phone had run out of batteries, what with the number of times he'd alternated calling Soubi and Ritsuka.

Neither of them answered their phones.

He would have marched straight to Beika, but that ass Ritsu had bluntly told him that he would be nothing but a nuisance there, since there would most likely be a Spell Battle, whatever that meant.

The boys he knew as Natsuo and Youji came out first. Next came Soubi, then Ritsuka, bundled up in Soubi's coat.

Nobody else followed. His heart sank.

He was beginning to get an inkling of what that meant.

"Sou-chan!" He called out anyway, rushing up to them. "Are you all right? Ritsuka, what about you?"

"Man, that's cold," Youji chuckled. "What about us?"

"And here we pulled out an all-nighter," Agreed Natsuo.

"Shut up," Kio ordered. "Ritsuka, where's the kiddo?"

Ritsuka stared at him without speaking. He shook his head.

For the first time, Kio noticed how puffy Ritsuka's face was. It was obvious that he had been crying hard. "Hey, Ritsuka, did he stay with…"

Even before Ritsuka answered, Kio knew what he was going to say. His injured hand throbbed, as a last reminder of the child he'd been hurt for.

"We're fine, Kio. But Touji's…gone."

* * *

Fin~

What do you think about the ending? Abrupt? Appropriate? Unexpected?

Please don't murder me with pink frog-dolls. I know I delayed...* weeps *

Oh, and a note to my readers, that I forgot to write in the last chapter: The other people in Chiyako-sensei's house are made up. Well, not exactly made up, because Chiyako-sensei's house really does exist in the manga. However, the names of Seimei's "friends" were from me, solely. I know that there are people in there that more or less fit the description that I gave them, but their names are lost to me, so I made them up. There are really a couple of kids in Seimei's group...which makes me wonder exactly why the hell were they there. It's quite possible that they're innocent of Seimei's plans.

Is it just me, or are there a few more fics (not just in Loveless) cropping up that discuss time travel? I've read a couple since I last updated...hmmm...

**_Last ramble before I reply to my reviews:_**(Oh, hey, even non-reviewers can read and react to this! I won't get annoyed if anyone does. I don't bite. I breathe fire!)

**Why did I receive more reviews when I said that this chapter would be the last? Will someone please very kindly explain it to me...i am clueless...**

_**Wicked-sama:**_ Thank you! Whoa, I didn't really think anyone read my rambles. Haha! For your attentions, here's another one about tails: People always say that they can wear fake cat-ears once they had "Lost" them, but I have never read anything even remotely resembling buying fake tails. Well, in theory, it'll be a lot more obvious if you stick a fake tail to the seat of your pants 'cause it REALLY won't move unless you're dancing the samba. And don't even let me get started on what would happen when the tails are still clipped on your pants when you take a bath and someone else sees it. * laughs * oh dear, i should really make my way back to the asylum where I came from...assuming that I can have a laptop and internet access there...

**_Promocat_**: I think so, too. Drugging Seimei was half-spur of the moment. I was thinking of how I can get him out of the way. And I shudder to think about what Seimei would do when he finds out what happened to the other Ritsuka...

_**Ellara**_: No nail biting! you'll end up like my younger sister, who has very little to work on when she paints her nails. hers are horrendous. * laughs * There's the "real" Ritsuka-he's saved! I really had the goal of making the readers see that both Ritsukas are actually "real". Although the time is different, I hope that it's not to hard to see how the younger Ritsuka eventually evolved into the older Ritsuka after the amnesia.

_**VeelaSophia**_: My chapters seem to trigger violent reactions...in a strange way I'm happy. And no, I don't cry (my best record of not crying is a little more than four years. I'm currently going with 3 months since I last cried). If this was made into a movie, I think it'll not be more than two hours...an OVA? oh, there's an idea. I appreciate the telepathic tissue, but breathe, okay? an oxygen tank's a lot more harder to telepathically send. * laughs * Though I'm guessing that it'll be my readers who'll be needing the supply of telepathic tissue after this chapter...

**_JumpingJelloDinosaurs-Rawr_**: I'm not sure if your CSI mind could predict all of this chapter-since I pulled the "United" fighter out at the last minute. I really tried to get this out as soon as I could...in fact it's shorter than the rest (13 pages on Word) because being kidnapped with a CSI mind is not very fun...methinks. * Accepts toast* Now this might be drugged too...hope not... *chews thoughtfully*and thank you for being a regular reviewer!

_**Cheywolfe**_: A long...very long...review. This is the longest I've gotten. When I first read it, I was unbelievably ecstatic. I can't believe I got such glowing praise from a writer who has been writing for loveless far, far longer than I do. Thank you. Congratulations on not giving a hint on this chapter-since you have a front-row seat as my beta. * laughs * I like chouma. she's like an "empty circle" in as far as her personality is concerned, since she had not made much appearances in the manga. i can portray her however i wanted, but at the same time, use the few frames she's been in as a basis for her character. For all I know she could be on the "Dark side" completely. On another point, there's a side of me that secretly believes that if the "amnesia-less" Ritsuka and Seimei still lived together with their mother, the "amnesia-less" Ritsuka would have been driven mad as well-especially if he keeps on going to the "loveless" mode again and again. I love surprising my readers-the balance of the past Ritsuka's innocence and his ruthlessness could eventually be seen as two branches of himself. the ruthlessness he got from Seimei. The innocence...i think he got that from his childhood, and maybe partly from Seimei as well. When he got amnesia, Ritsuka retained his positive traits-and left the ruthlessness behind. Though it's also resurfacing since he became Loveless...that's just my theory. Remember when Soubi asked Ritsuka to run away with him? Soubi said something along the lines of "Take me with you when you run away, because if you don't, I might turn into something I hate." But what about Ritsuka, ne? I think that Chibi-Ritsuka chooses the people he's cruel to-like Nisei. And there's the people he's nice to, like Chouma, and the Zero pair. Soubi and the other Ritsuka's status is unsure, and I can't really classify his treatment of Kio as entirely angelic. haha. I could read your review again when I feel discouraged, and it'll instantly make me feel better. I'm honored to be the one who received what might be your longest review. thank you so much.

Thank you for those who added me on their Alerts and Favorites. It's an honor-I am so happy! Why don't you take a few minutes to review? This is the last chapter (the next is just an epilogue of sorts)and after THAT chapter, i won't be able to run my lovely commentary for my reviewers. Tell me what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

Check out my profile pic for a pic of an earless Ritsuka, at the age of 17. it was drawn by Yun Kouga herself.

Review? Alert? Favorite?


	12. Happy Birthday Someday

A/N: I don't think I have to put up a disclaimer...but this is un beta'ed. Please forgive any mistakes.

Anyway, dive into the last chapter of Mnemosyne! Sorry it took so long.

* * *

That night, Ritsuka could only ask himself: was it real?

Did it really happen?

Two years ago…did his nine-year-old self somehow find himself in the future, then save his future self?

If so, why could he not remember it?

He lay down on his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. He realized that he was starting to sound like his younger self.

"Am I REAL?"

After the drama of the Chibi Ritsuka (as the Zero pair had called it), they had all gone back to Tokyo. Ritsuka had ordered Soubi to go back to his apartment.

He had wanted to be alone.

Misaki had refused to see him. When Ritsuka arrived, she had peered at him through a crack in her bedroom door, then slammed it shut again. However, there was food on the table and a warm bath running in the tub for him.

Ritsuka stretched his hand in front of him, then clenched his fist. For some strange reason he was sure that his mother would never hurt him again…

And he was equally sure that she would never be able to stand to look at him in the eye.

He glanced around the room, as if expecting some sign that the younger Ritsuka had ever been here. Nothing. Chibi's clothes were still at Soubi's. Ritsuka's room was devoid of the planes that the younger Ritsuka had loved so much.

Although United had used a spell to make him and the younger Ritsuka one again, Ritsuka could not feel that it was so. His memories were still missing. It hurt, that what might have been his last chance at redemption was so cruelly snatched from him. He didn't understand why United could not heal his memories as easily as the wounds on his back, but Ritsu-sensei probably would.

At Ritsuka's own decision, he had forbidden Soubi to tell the others of what had happened in Beika, especially of Kaidou Chouma's role. He didn't have to try very hard. Apparently Soubi never had the intention of letting Kio get an inkling of how much they knew of his personal life. And of course Soubi would rather kill himself than consider the Seven Moons as a confidante.

There was not even a photograph to remember the younger Ritsuka by…

Suddenly, he sat up. He had recalled something that the younger Ritsuka said-the cabinet on the upper shelf held all his photographs. A clue!

If he could only prove the younger Ritsuka's existence…

Spurred by new purpose, he dragged a stool over to the upper shelf and reached over. He was about to open the shelf when there was a knock on the glass door leading to his balcony.

"Soubi!"

The blond Sentouki smiled in reply to Ritsuka's indignant exclamation. In a few minutes, Ritsuka had let Soubi in the room.

"What were you doing?" Soubi asked.

"I was…trying to look at the younger Ritsuka's things."

Soubi simply nodded. "I'll help you."

Together, they removed a big box from the upper shelf-a big white box, with brown horses prancing around near the bottom of the box. "Ritsuka" was written in kanji on the box cover, and underneath it, the English letters of the same name.

"Ritsuka," the neko read out loud. He laid his hand on the top, but now that he was here, he was hesitant to open it. Did this belong to him?

Did it belong to the other Ritsuka?

It was his "Pandora's box". To open it was, in a way, acknowledging Chibi's presence in their lives, and perhaps the fact that the current Ritsuka could never be him.

This Pandora's box would unlock the things he was yet prepared to face.

* * *

Soubi sensed his reluctance. With another smile, he positioned himself so that he was directly behind Ritsuka, and inclined his head so that his blond hair tickled the tips of Ritsuka's ears. He laid his hand on top of Ritsuka's, and waited.

He would not move to open the box. Not if Ritsuka did not wish it.

His Sacrifice pressed his back against Soubi's chest, as if to draw strength. Soubi was motionless, wishing that he could somehow give strength to him.

Soubi, like Ritsuka, was grieving. The younger Ritsuka's clothes were still at his apartment. It was hard to believe that it had only been six days since the younger Ritsuka had appeared in their lives. Soubi almost expected Chibi to pop up out of nowhere with another of his cheerful smiles, ready to pull a prank with the Zero pair, or to stretch Kio's patience.

There would be no more of the younger Ritsuka's accusing stares. Soubi would never hear Chibi's footsteps as they stomped away from him, nor the crystal voice soaring past higher octaves when he was annoyed.

Ritsuka looked up, directly into Soubi's eyes, and saw the sorrow there. His heart tightened, and, with an impatient gesture, yanked the box cover off.

For a second, neither Sentouki nor Sacrifice moved. Then, they peered into the box.

The box contained a bulk of assorted objects. There were toys, notebooks, books, and a couple of photo albums.

Ritsuka, mesmerized, leafed through the photo album first. Soubi had to smile-that was typical of Ritsuka. There were snapshots of Seimei and Ritsuka at the beach, at a picnic. Some were of Ritsuka playing soccer with friends. Ritsuka as a kindergartner, Seimei blowing out his candles during a birthday party. A few pictures of the family: a school meeting, Seimei's graduation. There were class pictures, pictures of Ritsuka eating with his friends. Ritsuka wondered where they were now.

Half of one album was devoted to animals: cats, dogs, squirrels, bats, birds. There were also flowers, mountains, ponds, and lakes. There was their mountain, which the younger Ritsuka had told them about.

One of the things in the box was a scrapbook. Apparently it was a project of Ritsuka's for second grade. "Favorites" was the topic of the scrapbook. For every item, there was a corresponding picture.

"_My favorite person is my big brother, Seimei. He's five years older than I am and is very smart and kind."_

"_Favorite color: blue"_

"_Favorite book: James and the Giant Peach"_

"_Favorite movie: Lilo and Stitch"_

"_Favorite animal: Bears"_

Ritsuka smiled at the latest entry. Bears-how quaint. He thought it would have been rabbits, or dogs. He did not notice that his eyes were filling with tears.

The younger Ritsuka's toys were mostly planes. There were a few cars, a train set, and a troop of toy soldiers.

Ritsuka remembered that it was Seimei who put all these away, two years ago. When his older brother realized that he had lost his memory, Seimei separated all of these-perhaps, to spare him the pain of trying to remember. However…

However, now that he had met the younger Ritsuka, the current Ritsuka doubted the wisdom of that move. Chibi had given him so much sadness, partly because he felt like a stranger-when he really wasn't. It could have been prevented, if the current Ritsuka had the courage to.

For his lost past was not a shadow, Ritsuka realized. It was not something that he must run away from, or be ashamed of.

The last item in the box was a book.

The book.

"Soubi!" he gasped.

* * *

Soubi was looking at a diagram of the solar system that the younger Ritsuka had drawn. He had just seen that the younger Ritsuka had gotten the positions of Uranus and Neptune mixed up when he heard his Sacrifice's gasp.

"Ritsuka?"

The boy held a book in his hands. _The Velveteen Rabbit_.

For a moment, they could only stare at the book. "Is that the same book?" Soubi finally choked out.

Ritsuka opened the book. The first page was a confirmation in a childish scrawl:

"_From Soubi-san."_

"Impossible," Soubi murmured. "How did that get there?"

"It's been in the box for ages," Ritsuka said, not answering Soubi's question. He skimmed through the pages. "But this copy is this year's edition." He looked up. "Soubi…Did this mean that…"

In this world of impossibilities, Soubi had yet to encounter anything like this. He was sure that they had left this book on Ritsuka's table before they left for the Seven Moons…

"Did your mother clean your room, Ritsuka?"

"No, she never comes in here. And anyway, how can she reach the top cabinet?"

Soubi grabbed the book. It was true: this was the book that he had brought for Chibi when he was in the hospital. "I don't understand."

Something fluttered out of the back pages of the book. Ritsuka picked it up and stared at it.

Soubi was still panicky, but the boy smiled again. He was no longer afraid. "I think I do."

It was a photo, taken a few days ago. Or two years ago, depending on one's perspective. It showed the three of them: Soubi, Ritsuka and Chibi standing side by side on their mountain. Chibi's grin was the widest.

RItsuka stood, the picture in his hand. He promised, hadn't he? He would accept that Chibi had been a part of his life-

No.

He would accept that he had once been Chibi.

He retrieved a push pin and tacked the photo on his corkboard. There. Now it looked like it was in its rightful place.

It looked like he had come home.

"We really did meet again," Soubi said.

"Shut up," Ritsuka ordered. He was blushing.

"Ritsuka?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come to see a play in the University tomorrow?"

* * *

Sunday morning dawned clear and bright. September 29, Ritsuka thought.

Soon it would be winter. However, he did not feel the usual melancholy that he had felt when winter was approaching. He wondered briefly why that was.

"Good bye, Mom," he said in the direction of her door. He could see Misaki's silhouette against the window. She was still waiting…for a second his heart clenched with pain. He waited to see she was going to say anything-a word of farewell, perhaps- but when she still did not speak, Ritsuka let it go.

He and Soubi had arranged to meet each other in the University auditorium. Ritsuka had no idea what the Sentouki was up to-and on a Sunday no less. Oh, well, if it was only to see a play…

He'd tried to ask Soubi what the play was all about, but Soubi wouldn't tell him, instead saying that it would be best a surprise. Ritsuka supposed that he could have ordered Soubi to tell him, but there was that rare glint of mischief in Soubi's eyes that Ritsuka did not want to go away. The Sentouki at least looked happier when he reluctantly agreed to the arrangements, even apologizing for his selfishness at asking Ritsuka to come.

He didn't mind that much, actually.

With it being a Sunday, he expected the University to be almost deserted, but it was quite the opposite, He had to wait half an hour to even take a seat-and even then it was only thanks to the arrangements that Soubi had prepared beforehand.

The Zero pair was there too-two rows behind him. He gave them a polite wave, wishing that he wasn't so alone in the front-row seat. He was surrounded by adults who stared at him curiously.

He'd read at the front doors that it was a play about the Ninth Month Festival-the kite-flying Festival.

"Ritsuka," someone greeted him.

Ritsuka turned, fully expecting to see Soubi. Instead there stood Kaidou Kio, smiling sadly at him.

That sad look hadn't gone away ever since he learned of Chibi's disappearance. Ritsuka refused to say that Chibi was dead, for he was not, but telling Kio exactly where Chibi went would not help matters.

"So Sou-chan dragged you here, huh?"

"N-Not exactly dragged," stammered Ritsuka. Somehow he felt guilty about Kio's misery, knowing that he was the one who brought the news. Added to that was the knowledge of Kaidou Chouma's existence.

"It's too bad that the kid went away before he got to see…" Kio trailed off. "He helped with the scenery, you know."

Ritsuka was surprised. "Really?" He was only beginning to see why Soubi had brought him here.

"Five minutes before the show opening!"

Both of them looked up when the announcement was made. When Ritsuka could find no words to say, Kio stood and patted Ritsuka's hand. "I'll be going, then. Enjoy the show."

The tattoed artist was a good twenty feet away when Ritsuka called, "Kio!"

Kio turned.

"I just wanted to say…for everything that you did for Touji-I wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome, Ritsuka."

* * *

The play started with a Kite Dance-a group of students clad in colorful costumes, spiraling gracefully across the stage. It was like the dragon dance in the New Year, though there were a lot more animals here, aside from dragons. Ritsuka saw dragonflies, owls, eagles, cats, bats, and of course, Soubi's butterflies. There were also a couple of younger students who waved carp pennants.

Then the story began.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there struck a long, harsh winter. Men, women, and animals died, one after the other, and there seemed to be no hope of it ever abating. Winter had gone on for three months.

The Minori family lived in this village-a grandfather, a father, a mother, a son and a daughter. After a long debate, the grandfather, father and mother decided to wait out the rest of the winter in the mountains, where the cold weather was less cruel. They had to take only the necessities, the rest were left behind.

Now the firstborn son, Minori Sho, had a pet turtle that had survived the winter with the family. Sho had pleaded for his turtle to be brought, but his parents refused. They told him that his pet would be another burden to carry. Sadly, he prepared his small friend to what would seem to be certain death-when he saw his dragonfly kite in a corner of their house.

The next scene was the family's trek though the mountain. They waited out the winter there, supplementing the food they brought to what little they could hunt in the barren landscape. After a month, they deemed that spring had come, and descended from the mountain.

The adults were relieved to be home, but they were also privately sad that Sho's pet turtle had died because of the winter.

Just then, Sho came in, half crying and half laughing, holding something in his hand. It was his pet turtle. His parents were astonished-how had the turtle survived, when the others had not?

Sho explained that he had tied his turtle to his kite, with a bit of food. Then he let the kite fly. This way even if their house was buried in the snow, the turtle lived. His kite had been a means to his pet's survival.

His parents and grandfather were happy for him, and therefore, since that day, the Kite festival was built in honor of the Minori Sho's spring.

* * *

Seimei applauded politely with the others when the play ended. He had simply wanted to see how the two Ritsukas were doing, but it seemed that there was only one Ritsuka now.

United's spell had worked, then.

He did not want to reveal himself to his brother now-there would be time for it later, and anyway he knew deep in his heart that Ritsuka did not wish to see him. Soubi was still here, and the Zero boys.

"Let's go, Chouma."

Kaidou Chouma stood up at once and led the way out of the auditorium. She was another person he had to watch. Alone out of the Fighter Units that he had known, Chouma was the only Fighter that could use her Unit's spell without meeting her Sacrifice. Seimei thought it had something to do with her name-United. Together even when apart. But Chouma did not express interest in being forced to protect a nameless person.

Nisei was not permitted to come with him. Seimei had been dissatisfied with his Sentouki's performance in the fire, and it had manifested itself accordingly. Nisei was still recovering from the punishment that Seimei had given him.

Suddenly Chouma stopped.

Seimei raised an eyebrow and looked to see what paralyzed Chouma.

Ah. Understandable. Kaidou Kio stood before them, his face completely bloodless as he took in Chouma and Seimei together.

For a few moments, nobody spoke.

Kio's voice was a broken mumble. "You're with him."

She did not reply. Seimei did not know the exact circumstances of her family-he suspected that it had been one of the major reasons why she agreed to be his spy in the first place. Judging from the way that Chouma's face was carefully expressionless, he had been right.

"Chouma." Seimei prompted.

Chouma turned swiftly to look at Seimei and nodded. She and Seimei walked past the stunned Kio and took their leave.

* * *

"Did you like the play, Ritsuka?"

'It was stupid. No turtle could survive in a kite for a month."

Halfway through the play, Ritsuka had thought he had seen Seimei and Chouma in the stands, but the next time he had looked they were gone. The mere thought of Seimei being here was enough to make Ritsuka jumpy.

"Would Ritsuka like to test that?"

Ritsuka whipped to face his smiling Sentouki. "No," he said firmly.

Soubi couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, Ritsuka, there's another surprise for the day."

The blond-haired adult showed Ritsuka the back stage, where all the actors were in chaos. Soubi sidestepped anyone who sought to congratulate him.

"Soubi, what about Kio, Natsuo and Youji?"

"They'll be fine. Here we are."

Soubi used a key to open a room. Ritsuka did not see anything that was valuable in the empty room he had suddenly found himself in. there was a white cloth covering one square of the farthest wall. That was all. There wasn't even anyone else.

They were alone.

Suddenly he felt scared. He wasn't about to lose his ears here…right?

"I wanted to show you something," Soubi told him, taking Ritsuka by the hand and walking over to the cloth-covered wall. "This room is the art college's next project."

"And you got a spot?"

"Yes. This is what I painted for this gallery."

Soubi gestured for Ritsuka to uncover the painting. Ritsuka, already half-knowing what it would be, pulled the cloth aside.

Ritsuka froze in astonishment..

It was a painting of a stem of bluebells against a sepia-toned background. Two butterflies fluttered around it. One was black and purple. Another, a slightly smaller one, was white and purple. There were only those three figures in the painting. Its very simplicity was what made it so beautiful in Ritsuka's opinion.

The symbolisms were clear. Ritsuka could only stare.

"You commented on this painting when you first saw it," Soubi explained.

Ritsuka was instantly distracted from his scrutiny of the painting. "Me?"

"Two years ago. You saw me paint this when you were having a pillow war with Youji and Natsuo."

"I did what?"

"You said it was a nice painting."

With that, Ritsuka was silenced.

They stood together for a while, almost content.

Chibi had not solved all his problems, but maybe…

Just maybe…

He'd lightened the burden a little.

"What's the painting called?" Ritsuka inquired.

Soubi took his hand. "Mnemosyne."

Ritsuka squeezed Soubi's hand. He knew that Chibi wanted him to be here. Right here, by Soubi's side.

He, Ritsuka, wanted to be here, too. That meant that they were one and the same, right?

"Thank you, Soubi. Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday, Ritsuka."

* * *

_They say that time isn't linear, like we think it is. If we think of dimensions, the temporal exists in the fourth dimension. _

_In another place, in another time, an almost ten-year old boy lay on his bed. He was motionless, and every once in a awhile his facial expression would change-a smile, a frown, a scowl. Once he'd cried. _

_His older brother sat nearby, his long fingers alternately lacing themselves together or forming into fists. The older boy had kept vigil over his younger brother for a week. His little brother had not woken yet since he was attacked. _

_It was not an accident. _

_The older brother sighed deeply. Perhaps the only consolation that he could take was the fact that the ones who did this were dead. _

_It gave him consolation, but not satisfaction. _

_Then he jumped out of his chair when he saw the boy's eyes open slowly. Cat ears twitched._

_The older brother knelt by him. "Ritsuka? How are you feeling?" the older brother asked. _

_Big purple eyes met his own. The older brother was struck at how different his little brother looked now-whatever happened in that past week, whatever he dreamed, it had a profound effect. Those eyes were deeper._

_More…soulful._

"_Ritsuka?"_

_The younger boy spoke at last. "Who are you?"_

_The older brother staggered back as if hit by a physical blow. "You…You don't know who I am?"_

_The younger boy shook his head. "I…I dreamed…but…I don't remember. Anything. Where am I?"_

_And the cycle began again. _

* * *

_~Fin. ~_

Before I say my goodbyes, here's a last shoutout to my A-Mazing reviewers:

Wicked-sama: The asylum took hostage of my laptop and wouldn't let it go until I agreed to to an extensive research on how to remove toe corns. That is why this chapter took so long. * sweatdrop * Anyway, thanks for the review!*sends tissue *

VeelaSophia: Don't cry! I think this may be a good integration of both Ritsukas...and I'm really very happy that you reviewed a long one! * covers other works * the other things i made are not that good...* mutters under breath: i never think they are...* still, i'm glad that you enjoyed it!

Promocat: yeah, it was the younger ritsuka. But if you wish, you can see that the younger Ritsuka didn't really disappear!

About the story:

I know that a lot of you might be saying, "NO! That's it? WHY? So many things left unfinished!"

I don't know if there would be a sequel. I try not to make a story too "finished" if the manga/anime is not finished either. I don't go out of what the anime/manga says, as you can probably notice. I think the most interesting points are Kaidou and Ritsuka's not-quite-merge with the younger Ritsuka.

I don't know much about Kaidou Chouma, either. I don't know what her motivations are, or why she's with Seimei (not even sure if she IS with Seimei...), or anything like that. But I do believe that she's not as bad, for someone who works with Seimei, anyway.

And my readers must be wondering why I didn't merge the past Ritsuka with the present. I think I can only say that it will affect the time paradox...and two personalities in one mind might damage Ritsuka's character. Personally, I like how Ritsuka is, memory-less and all. He just needs a bit of peace with himself. Chibi Ritsuka did not solve any of the present Ritsuka's problems, as I've already said, but I think that he did provide the present-day Ritsuka with a way to hate himself less. After all, the younger Ritsuka didn't really disappear.

Another reason why I didn't merge them is because the present-day Ritsuka needs to learn some things for himself. Like what Loveless' power is (you might notice that Chibi already knew how to use them, while the knowledge was lost on the present Ritsuka.) And how to tame his mother. I think Misaki would be waiting forever for the the younger Ritsuka, ne? A large part of me can't really visualize a happy ending for her.

September 29 really is Agatsuma Soubi's birthday.

I hope that you have had as much fun reading this as I had writing this. I never thought that people would review so much. You have all given me the support I need to keep this story going, and it had been a continuous challenge to pen out something that people would love reading.

Last Fun Fact: A bit of randomness before I go:

Do you know that cat penises have thorns? * laughs * Yeah.

So I was taking this Psychology class and all of a suden we were talking about sexual drives. Then my profesor goes, "Did you know that cat penises have thorns? It's to cleanse the female cat's vaginal passage of all the traces of semen from the previous cats. The male cat would then be assured that any kittens born would be his."

My classmates: O.O

Me: ^_^'

Really, sometimes being a Loveless writer can be a lot of fun. Haha. Enjoy your day, lovelies.

Review? You've read this far, anyway...please? one last before you close this page and navigate to another story. Did the ending go well? What part of the stor did you like/hate/would like to change? Who knows, i might get an idea for a sequel...(if people ask for it...would they?)

P.S.

For those who would like to read some of my other stories, see my homepage. I've started a new Kyou Kara Mau fic, Lies Agreed Upon.

REVIEW! clicky the little button!


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